Even Androids can Grow Older
by Diamond Avatar
Summary: [PG13] Jet's finding new bubbly feelings inside him and they're driving him mad! Strange girls wanting him! Strange men trying to kill him! And more! [JV]
1. Treasure of the Heart

Even Androids can Grow Older Started September 26, 2004

**By Diamond Avatar**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Wild ARMs 3 or anything like that. That belongs to the important people. I have the game sure but psssh everyone has the game. We're not so special HAHAHA D

**Author's Note:** Well this is the first fanfic I've ever done, so bear with me if I do something wrong. I've decided to base chapters around half days. This may change in some situations but otherwise it should stay that way. Reviews, flames, etc are all welcome, and I'll do my best to respond when it's possible.  
  
D.A

"talking"

'Thinking'

SFX

(Author comments)

* * *

DAY 1: Treasure of the Heart

**5:00 P.M – The King's Tomb**

"Well, I guess this is it." Clive pointed out obviously.

After a long, arduous journey through hundreds of twists and turns, the Drifters had finally reached what appeared to be the final room. The room was virtually empty save the giant chest at the center of the room.

* * *

**3:30 P.M – With a small group of nomads in the middle of nowhere**

The gang had heard about a really old labyrinth that was said to contain the jewels of a dead royal family. After seeing Jet's eyes light up at the sound of jewelry, Virginia decided 'what the hey' and they headed for the King's Tomb.

* * *

**4:00 P.M – The King's Tomb**

Upon entry they found that they weren't kidding when they said 'labyrinth'. The place was like maze, with every few steps leading to another crossroad and at least five traps. Since disarming traps was Jet's forte, they finally coaxed him into leading the way. He managed to disarm a majority of the traps along the way, but hid the fact from his teammates that he did get hit by quite a lot of them. Needless to say Jet felt pretty crappy by the end, since he had to take the brute of the damage.

* * *

**5:03 P.M – The King's Tomb**

"You know for a King, he doesn't have a very amazing treasure room. Not really clean either." Gallows said, looking around the dull room.

"I'm sure it must be due to the long period of time that this has been here. And it would be pointless to decorate a room they have no intention of letting anyone enter." Clive as usual gave a factual report on Gallows' comment.

"Moron." Jet mumbled. Causing Gallows to whack him on the head.

"Well, let's just grab the treasure and get out of here!" Virginia said, and carelessly began walking up to the chest.

"Hey wait! Don't be an idiot, it could be trapped!" Jet said, straining due to his injuries.

"There's NO WAY they would put more traps after what we went through!" Virginia stated heartily, still walking.

Clive was about to run and drag her back, but then Gallows held him back, with a large grin on his face while looking at something. Or rather, _someone._ Clive could tell Gallows was up to something. Something stupid.

Clive, annoyed that Gallows could put them all in danger, followed his gaze towards Jet, who looked like he could sweat Filgaia back to life in his state. He was sweating waterfalls. Obviously, the pressure of watching Virginia endanger herself was getting to him, but his condition was slowing down his thinking.

"I'm opening it!" Virginia yelled, then she yanked open the large chest.

Bracing themselves for an explosion, or a flood, or some other really painful way to die, the other three drifters had latched onto the walls. After awhile, nothing happened.

"See? Everything's fi-"

CRACK.

The floor was cracking apart. The sudden jolt caused Virginia to fall into the chest and it closed itself up.

"Waah, help me!" Virginia yelled, knocking on the chest.

"AW SHIT!" Jet was dizzy enough as it was, and the floor cracking didn't help. He ran as fast as he could to the chest, barely missing the holes that seemed to go for eternity (go figure, huh?). Clive and Gallows couldn't assist, having enough trouble avoiding the holes.

Jet ran up to the chest and tried to open it. Somehow it locked itself upon closing again.

"_That's just great."_ Jet cursed his really crappy luck.

He hurriedly pulled out his lockpicks and began unlocking the chest.

"Heeeelp mee!" Virginia was banging on the chest.

"STOP IT, I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE!" Jet yelled at her, halfway through working out the lock.

CRACK.

The floor surrounding the chest slowly began descending.

"Someone must REALLY find making fun of me FUNNY!!!" Jet yelled, working faster than before (well obviously, yes it's lots of fun D).

"Gotcha!" Jet finally took out the lock, and hurriedly opened the chest.

"JEET!!!" Virginia yelled in joy and jumped out and hugged him.

"Wh-what the hell? This isn't the right time for this! We gotta move!" She showed no sign of letting go, and the platform was sinking faster. So Jet gave a grunt and picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and quickly jumped up onto higher ground. He speedily hopped from platform to platform towards the exit, where Clive and Gallows were still jumping around like idiots.

"Move it, morons!" Jet yelled as they made their way back out of the labyrinth. Luckily, Jet was used to remembering the way to the exit, it was part of his job after all. He led the gang and soon they saw light up ahead. Just as they got out, the King's Tomb collapsed. No more traps, no more winding corridors, no more trea-

"...Hold on...ARGH CRAP I FORGOT THE TREASURE!!!"

Jet began digging through the rubble, feeling really ticked off at how he could forget such a thing. How could he forget? '_Oh... Right... The girl.'_

Jet turned back for a split second to make sure that Virginia was OK, as well as making sure no one saw him making sure. She apparently fainted from the experience, but she looked OK. Clive was checking her for any problems anyway.

"HAHAHA! I see you picked up your favorite treasure from that chest, huh punk?" Gallows teased. Jet's face went red like a tomato.

"Wh-What the hell? I wa-was ju-just...WHAT??" Jet was at a loss for words and turned away, Gallows laughing his butt off.

"Don't tease him Gallows, he made the right choice. We should be grateful that he saved his princess." Clive smiled. Jet was about to agree with him until he worked out he was also making fun of him.

Giving up, Jet just grumbled and walked away, with Clive trying to conceal his laughter, and Gallows bellowing like a hippo.

"...Yeah, Whatever." Jet muttered, walking away while thinking about what he did.

'_Why did I forget the treasure? I mean sure, eventually I WOULD save her, but I should've at least pocketed something!' _Jet groaned at the thought of doing all that for nothing. The he groaned again remembering he got hurt. A LOT. He found a nearby tree and sat down to examine himself.

First he checked the important places. _'Face... Well that's not too bad. Hands... Pretty banged up, but the gloves helped. Feet... Just sore from running. And the really important part...Thank god it's OK!' _(I'm sure no matter how emotionless Jet can be, he should care about THAT right?)After examining the important parts, he removed his scarf, jacket, and shirt to examine his chest and back.

'_That's a pretty big slice wound from that axe trap, and it looks like it bled pretty bad,'_ Jet winced as he touched it._ 'A couple of bruises too, but that's no prob.'_

Satisfied that he'd live to see another day, Jet slumped onto the tree, not even bothering to put his shirt on, and closed his eyes.

'I'm glad she's OK...'

"EHHHHH???" Jet's face went a little red after he worked out what he was thinking.

He shook his head and brought his hand up to his forehead.

"That girl... Jeez." He saw a lake nearby (Yeah in my world, there ARE LAKES!) and went over to cool off.

* * *

**6:30 P.M – At Campsite**

"Ugh... My head hurts" Virginia muttered, awakening from her rest.

"The pain should subside soon. Do you remember what happened?" Clive inquired his patient, looking at her head to make sure there were no bumps.

She looked around to find that the King's Tomb had collapsed and that camp had been set up nearby.

"Yes... The room was falling apart, and I got stuck in the chest, and then..." Virginia blushed and looked away remembering that Jet was the one who not only got her out of the chest, but also carried her all the way back. She remembered the panic on his normally emotionless face, causing her to sigh and get all bubbly.

"Yo? Yo Ginny? Yo? YO?!?!?" Gallows had to yell to snap her out of it, causing Virginia and Clive to jump.

Virginia giggled and lowered her head in apology. Then she realized Jet wasn't around.

"Where's Jet?" Virginia asked, still looking left and right.

"Haha, he's just gone for a little time alone." Clive smiled, remembering how funny it was to see him embarrassed. "Actually Virginia, why don't you go get him? The stew's just about ready, and I'm sure he is hungrier than all of us put together. He was working pretty hard, after all."

Virginia nodded and got up to find him.

* * *

**6:50 P.M – Nearby Lake**

Jet was sitting by the lake, looking at his reflection in the water.

"Wow, I guess even androids can grow older." Jet quoted, noticing that he started growing a little facial hair.

Jet closed his eyes and slumped backwards, then took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Or at least what he thought would be the sky. Instead he saw bright green eyes on a certain hyper girl's upside down face, which was leaning over him.

"WAAH!!" Jet jumped and started to trip into the lake.

"Look out Jet!" Virginia ran over to catch him, but instead she ran into him, causing them both to fall into the water.

SPLASH.

Jet coughed out a little water and looked up at Virginia, a little annoyed, and at the same time he felt like smiling. He wouldn't of course, it's not very Jet. Just then he realized that Virginia was on top of him. He blushed a little, but washed it out in the water, which luckily wasn't so deep as to drown him in that position.

"Hehe, sorry Jet!" Virginia put her arm behind her head and tilted it, making Jet blush at how cute she looked in that pose. Virginia didn't notice.

"Wh-Whatever..." Jet said. "Could you get off me now?" Jet said with annoyance in his tone.

"Hey! I'm trying to apologize here!" Virginia said playfully, and then proceeded to dunk Jet's head in the water.

"What the-"Jet was cut off by the water pouring into his mouth. Virginia let him go and he got up with a gasp for air.

"I'll get you!" Jet yelled angrily, but Virginia had gotten up and was wading away from him.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Virginia yelled. Jet raced after her and dived at her, causing them both to fall into the water again.

Virginia sat up and started laughing. Jet followed and sat up in the water as well.

"What?" Jet asked.

"I've never seen you without a shirt on. You're a lot more toned than I thought." Virginia blushed when she realized he might catch on that she _has_ thought of him without a shirt on.

Jet blushed like crazy and looked away. Then Virginia noticed the numerous bruises and cuts on Jet.

"Oh my! Jet, did that happen in the Tomb?" Virginia said worriedly, crawling over to have a look.

Jet looked away. "It's just a couple of scratches, forget it."

"What are you talking about, this cut here looks like it bled a lot!" Virginia touched the axe cut, which made Jet blush and wince and the same time.

"Come on, let's go to that tree, I have some bandages."

Jet reluctantly walked, with Virginia's help, out of the lake and back to the tree where he left his clothes. Virginia then proceeded to bandage up his wounded abdomen. Had she looked up, she would've seen Jet's beetroot face from Virginia so close.

"_Why the hell do I keep blushing??? Am I sick? Maybe that axe was poisoned or something!" _Jet was still unaware of these things involving the opposite sex; he only knew how to fight and how to get money.

"There!" Virginia said as she finished the bandage. "As soon as we get back to town, you're getting checked out OK? Now let's get back to camp, dinner's ready."

"Yeah, whatever." Jet said. Kychuu! "Huh?"

He followed the sound to Virginia, who was wiping her nose. She was sneezing.

"Hee hee. Excuse me." Virginia said.

"Change those clothes, you'll catch a cold." Jet said, surprised he said so many words in one sentence.

"But I don't have any other clothes to change into." Virginia explained. Jet eyed his shirt, jacket, and scarf, still dry after their little game.

"You can wear those." Jet said, trying to put as little emotion into it as possible.

"But you might get a cold!" Virginia said.

"Forget it! Just change!" Jet said.

"Um... Thank you Jet." Virginia said softly.

"Yeah... You're welcome. I'll wait by the lake, just tell me when you're ready." Jet meant to say 'yeah whatever', but somehow ended up saying what he did. Jet was really confused, but he shrugged it off and sat by the lake again.

"I'm ready!" Virginia said. She wore Jet's shirt kind of like a short dress, since it was so baggy. Jet usually tucked it into his pants, so she had no idea it was as long as it was. She also had Jet's jacket and scarf on, and she kept her stockings on. She had let down her hair to dry off too. Jet found it embarrassing to see his clothes on a girl.

"Let's go." Jet said and they headed back to the campsite.

* * *

**8:00 P.M – At Campsite**

"So anyway, she's all like 'Oh Gallows, you're such a hunk!' and I'm like 'Damn straight baby!' and then..." Gallows kept yakking on and on about how much women wanted him, as well as making kinky poses to show what they looked like, and Clive just kept nodding his head while reading one of his textbooks.

"We're back!" Virginia said with a smile.

"... Then she... Oh hey Ginny!" Gallows stopped talking about the women, causing Clive to smile and have a small party in his head.

Gallows noticed that they were wet and also Virginia had Jet's shirt on, with Jet carrying the wet dress over his bare shoulder.

"Damn punk! I'm so proud of you! You took her down while we weren't looking! And it must've been some kinky shit! HAHAHAHA!!!" Gallows bellowed, and stopped after a rock came flying and hit him square on his head.

"Stop getting dirty thoughts!" Virginia pouted and went into a tent to try and find new clothes to wear.

"Gallows and I ate, but we left some of the stew for you two." Clive pointed to the pot by the fire.

Gallows suddenly had another one of his brilliant ideas. He slinked off claiming he needed to do number one, then grabbed two of the tents and threw them down a nearby cliff. Then he headed back with an evil grin.

"Well, I think I'm gonna turn in for the night!" Gallows said. "Hey Clive, aren't you tired?"

"Well actually I..." Gallows gave him a wink, and then Clive smiled and rephrased his sentence. "I am indeed feeling quite tired, so I shall also be heading to bed."

Gallows and Clive got up and headed for one of the two leftover tents. "_Hold on a minute... Two tents?"_

"What happened to our other two tents?" Jet asked, irritated.

"We had to lessen our weight while running so we dumped them in the Tomb."Clive said matter-of-factly. Clive was really good at lying by now. "Good night then!" They got into the tent before Jet could argue "Oh yeah, since Gallows and I are in this tent, you're going to have to share with Virginia, I'm sure you wouldn't want her to sleep outside." Then he zipped up the tent and went to bed.

"Wh-what? Grr..." Jet knew they planned this, but he knew better than to try and fight Clive and Gallows at the same time. And besides, he was just going to eat alone with her? And then they just had to share a tent? It was nothing, right? Not like they were going to...

"... _I am so screwed."_ Jet blushed at the images in his head.

Virginia had come out of her tent and was wearing her nightgown along with Jet's jacket.

"Is it OK if I still wear your jacket?" Virginia asked, noticing he still had no shirt, then feeling a little guilty.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm used to the cold." Jet said. "Let's eat."

Their meal was rather uneventful. Partly because they had nothing to talk about. Partly because their teammates weren't around. But mainly because they were alone together with Jet having no shirt and Virginia in a nightgown.

After that embarrassing moment, Jet told Virginia about the loss of their tents, and what they had to do.

"I see." Virginia turned away and blushed.

"Yeah." Jet said, following her lead and blushing as well.

There was an awkward silence before Jet said "Forget it, I'll sleep outside."

"No!" Virginia said it in such a way it surprised both of them. "I mean... You might catch a cold... 'Cos it looks like a storm's coming... I don't mind sharing... I mean... If you don't."

Jet felt like the blood in his legs had all entered his head, making him feel all wobbly.

"W-Whatever. Let's just rest."

After an awkward moment getting into the tent, they laid out their sleeping bags and tried to sleep. The key word: Tried.

* * *

**11:57 P.M – In the Tent**

They both faced away from each other since they were both embarrassed as heck. It was a few minutes to midnight, and they had trouble sleeping. It had been over three hours since they got into the tent.

"Jet."

"What?"

"Are you asleep?"

"Guess."

"Me too."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Recently you've been adding 'yeah' to your little catch phrase. You're talking more already!"

"...Whatever."

The sound of rain could be heard, slowly dripping onto the roof of their tent. Virginia was right about the storm coming. Jet was thankful to be indoors.

All of a sudden thunder struck.

"Yaaah!" yelled Virginia, and turned and latched onto a surprised Jet.

"Wh-What the?"

**MIDNIGHT.**

END DAY 1.

* * *

**Author's Note:** That's right, I said the chapters would be days and I stick by that down to the last minute! How was that people? I know it didn't have a lot of action but I swear it will soon! Plus I managed to have a little cliffhanger for all you J/V fans! What's gonna happen after midnight? Something SASSY? Reviews are very much welcome.

**NEXT TIME!**

Next chapter they'll be heading to town to get Jet checked up! And what happens when the doctor of said town just happens to be a beautiful girl! Will Virginia keep her cool? Or will she go guns blazing in jealously? Will Jet ever understand what the hell is going on??? FIND OUT NEXT CHAPTER!


	2. Follow your Instincts

**  
Disclaimer: **I don't own Wild ARMs, but I'm sure I own something... Meh guess not.

* * *

DAY 2: Follow your Instincts

**12:02 A.M – In the Tent**

Virginia was still clinging onto Jet, shivering. Jet on the other hand, seemed frozen in confusion.

'_Come on, push her off you idiot.' _Jet thought, wondering why he hadn't done so yet.

"S-Sorry... I'm afraid of l-li-"

BANG.

Virginia gave a small yelp and latched on tighter, making it hard for Jet to breathe.

"C...Calm down..." Jet managed to say after awhile. Virginia noticed his face losing color and promptly let him go.

"Sorry... It's just I don't like lightning." Virginia said quietly, still quivering in the dark. Jet could barely make out her figure next to him. (This is gonna be important in later chapters)

"Well I'd like to get some sleep, so exactly how do I make it stop?" Jet said with a fake yawn.

"Umm... When I was younger, my dad gave me a teddy bear to hug and he put a special machine in it so it would tell me 'everything is OK'." Virginia said, smiling weakly.

"...OK. Sorry but I don't think any of those are around here. You sure there isn't anything else?" Jet said hopingly. He didn't want her to keep latching onto him through the night. When she shook her head, Jet groaned and tried to think of something else.

"Well, there was another thing..." Virginia said quietly.

"Thank god. What is it?"

BANG.

Virginia started talking so fast Jet could barely make it out. "I used to get in my aunt's bed after my dad left, and she'd hug me..."

If it hadn't been so dark, Virginia would see that Jet's jaw fell, and he just lay there gaping at her for a while.

"Jet?" He came back to earth and sighed.

"You sure there's no other way this time?"

"Yeah."

Jet rolled so that he faced the tent wall rather than Virginia, making her think he was saying no.

"...If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." Jet muttered, slightly flustered that he actually accepted such a ridiculous idea. Virginia on the other hand was grinning broadly.

She hurriedly grabbed him and hugged him.

"Thanks, Jet!" she whispered into his ear.

"Yeah... Whatever." Jet said, trying to get to sleep despite his situation.

BANG.

"...You... You're choking me again."

* * *

**6:00 A.M – Sunrise**

Clive was the first one up that morning. He got out of his tent and had a little stretch, before walking a fair bit off to take a leak. After doing his business, he decided to check on how Jet and Virginia went sharing a tent. He took a peek inside.

"Well, that's strangely unexpected." Clive didn't think Jet would take very well to having someone hug him. Then Clive had an idea, the kind Gallows would have. An evil smirk came onto his face, and he ran over to his tent to find his camera.

* * *

**7:30 A.M – The team is ready to go**

"We have to head for the nearest town to find a doctor, Jet got hurt in those ruins so I think he should get checked up" Virginia said while checking her map. It turned out the closest place was called 'Oasis Inn', a holiday resort for couples, marriages, and the like.

"I'm fine. Let's just make money." Jet said, trying to avoid going to a doctor. Jet HATED doctors.

"We're going to the doctor at Oasis Inn, and that's final!" Virginia said in a motherly tone, which everyone knew meant they couldn't argue this time.

They packed their bags, called their horses, and set off for Oasis Inn.

* * *

**9:00 A.M – Entrance to Oasis Inn**

In front of the gang was a spectacular sight. The buildings were taller than any they had ever seen, and in the center of the inn was a massive swimming pool, filled with many women in skimpy bathing outfits, causing Clive and Gallows to break out in nosebleeds. Jet on the other hand just blushed and looked away. Virginia whacked Clive and Gallows on the head to bring their senses back.

"We have to find a doctor first, you boys can have your fun later." Virginia said, dragging them both behind her, with a reluctant Jet following.

After asking around a bit, they managed to find their way to the doctor's surgery. It was a fairly small house, and blended into the residential areas easily. They walked in to the waiting room and took a seat, and a young, beautiful woman in a nurse outfit came up to them.

"How may I help you today?" she said with a smile. Gallows and Clive began to have nosebleeds again, and Jet blushed and looked away again.

"M-My friend here has some wounds on his body." Virginia was surprised at how beautiful she was too.

"May I take a look?" She said, while taking off Jet's shirt and jacket. Gallows and Clive stared in jealously at their wounded friend, who did as he was told.

"Hmm..." She proceeded to move her finger around his chest seductively, causing Jet to shiver and blush, Gallows and Clive to drool, and Virginia to go red in anger.

"C-Could you please just treat him already?" Virginia was doing a bad job of hiding her jealousy.

"Oh I'm not the doctor, I'm just one of her assistants." She replied. Virginia was thankful that she wasn't the doctor. She gave him back his shirt and he put it back on. "Come on, I'll take you to your room." The gang followed her as they were led to a small room with a bed and various tools along a table.

"The doctor will arrive shortly." The nurse then walked off to continue her work.

"Honestly that woman!" Virginia pouted.

"We getting a little jealous are we?" Gallows teased, still having a major nosebleed. Virginia punched him in the face, causing him to bleed out more to the point of passing out. Gallows hit the floor with a thump, and Clive took a step back and kept very quiet. Jet was sitting on the bed waiting nervously for the doctor.

When she arrived, Clive's nosebleed got even worse. Even Jet started to drip a little. She was drop-dead gorgeous. Long flowing blonde hair, an incredible body with nice curves, and she wore a short skirt with a tight fitting top. She looked to be around a year or two older than Jet.

"So what seems to be the problem?" She said with a sweet voice.

"Uhh... Me... Cut..." Jet stuttered, then pulled himself together quickly. "I mean, I have a cut across my abdomen!"

She walked over to him and pulled his shirt off, again causing Virginia to get ticked off. She then took a closer look.

"Hmm... You are indeed a well-built young man. Your body is really nice." She said flirtatiously while slowly dragging her fingers around his chest. Virginia was boiling, and Jet just looked away from the doctor. "Oh, my name's Iris by the way! Nice to meet you! What's your name?" She inquired sweetly to Jet.

"J...Jet Enduro." Jet managed.

"What a nice name!" She looked up at him and smiled. Jet quivered in embarrassment. Virginia was going crazy, so Clive tried to lighten the mood.

"M... My name is Clive!" Clive said, trying to distract everyone. It didn't work very well.

At this point, Gallows awoke, but after he saw Iris, he let out another gush of blood and returned to being unconscious.

The nurse hadn't been listening to Clive's introduction, but instead staring intently at Jet's chest.

"Hmm... I think he'll need some stitches, and he should stay here for a few days." Iris said, studying the wound. She was suddenly acting more professional. "First I'm going to clean the wound, so maybe you should bite onto something."

Jet just shrugged. He didn't mind a little pain, and he sure as hell wasn't going to scream like a sissy from a little rubbing alcohol. Iris then started rubbing it onto him, causing Jet's face to take on an angry and sour look. When she finally finished, Jet took a deep breath and slumped down a bit.

"Nurses! I need you!" Iris yelled down the aisle. The next sight caused Jet's eyes to go wide in surprise.

Three beautiful nurses came in with bandages, surgical string, and scissors. Iris then pointed at Jet, and the proceeded to prepare their equipment on a nearby table.

"Would your friends like to stay and watch?" Iris inquired Jet. He looked at them and saw that Virginia was mad. Very mad. Clive saw this and hurriedly started talking.

"We'll wait outside for you!" He grabbed Gallows and started to drag him out, while pushing Virginia out the door with him. Gallows also happened to wake up just before they got out, and passed out again after seeing the nurses.

* * *

**9:30 A.M – Waiting room**

"What are they doing to Jet???" Virginia was still ranting on and on about how angry she was with Jet and the women.

"Now, now, Virginia, they are trained professionals, we have to trust them." Clive tried to calm her down. Gallows had awoken feeling very sick at this point. He took a seat next to Clive.

"Man that boy drags in every woman without even noticing it. He's really taking after me!" Gallows chuckled.

"The nerve of that guy! Blushing and fawning over the nurses!" Virginia was going crazy.

"It's not his fault and you know it." Clive said.

"Y-You're right. I should trust Jet." Virginia finally calmed down.

Suddenly, Jet burst out of the room with a tomato red face, followed by Iris and the nurses.

"Jet, come play with us pleaaaase?" they all said seductively. "You don't have a girlfriend yet, so let us be your girlfriends!" (Ahhh, if only it were like that D)

"W-Whatever!" Jet yelled getting redder, then grabbed Virginia and the others and ran out.

"He's playing hard to get, HOW CUTE!" Iris squealed in joy. "Don't worry, Jetty, I'll make you mine. Just you wait and see!"

**10:15 A.M – Oasis Inn's Inn**

"That'll be 200,000 gella for the four rooms." The innkeeper said.

"WHAT??? Why's it cost so much?" Gallows yelled, causing everyone to look his way."

"Well, this is a holiday resort. We have game rooms, a swimming pool, a restaurant, and many more things available to those who are staying. But we do have a special couple's discount here, since we're a very popular couple's spot. Basically it's a room for two and it'll cost you only 20,000 gella." The man explained.

"Well that sounds pretty good." Clive said.

"Hey you forget there's only one girl here. We can't exactly go as two couples." Gallows pointed at Virginia.

"So, does that mean only one of us can go in as a couple? That's still too much for us to afford." Clive checked their balance. "We only have 50,000 left."

"I have an idea!" Virginia said with an evil grin. "A couple is made up of two people, right? And there are four of us! It's that simple!" She said and grabbed onto Jet's arm, taking him by surprise, and waltzed over to the counter.

"Hello! My boyfriend and I would like the couple's room!" Virginia said with a big smile, while Jet stood next to her like a pole trying to work out what just happened.

"Ah of course! You two make a fine couple! That'll be 20,000 gella!" Virginia handed over the cash and they followed a bellboy to their room. Then she waved at Clive and Gallows to follow her lead. The men both looked at each other in despair.

"She was... Kidding, right?" Gallows said hopefully.

"I don't think so." Clive said sadly.

They decided to just get it over with, so they put on their game faces and waltzed over to the counter.

"Hello, me and my darling over here would like the couple's room!" Gallows said in a high pitch tone, trying to copy Virginia. Clive put his arm around Gallows to keep it real. "We plan to have lots of fun here!"

"Don't you think we make a fine couple too?" Clive said, hugging Gallows tighter.

The innkeeper gaped at them. "Ah... Yes, of... Course. That'll be 20,000 gella!" He was still stunned by what was going on, and Clive gave him the money, then they quickly shuffled over to their room with the bellboy. Many of the people had seen them and started gossiping, especially the women.

"Aw man, now I'll never get a woman here." Gallows said sadly. Clive was already married, so it didn't bother him.

They found their room, which happened to be a few doors away from Jet and Virginia's room. They saw them outside, Jet looking very confused as to what was happening. They walked over to join their teammates.

"Well, now that we're in, what should we do? Jet's bandaging was finished already. Turns out they just wanted him to stay to play with him." She said with a little annoyance.

"I'll be fine to do anything." Jet said uncaringly, looking down the corridor.

"Well, I'm starving! What say we head down to the restaurant for a little double date?" Clive said with a laugh.

"Oh that would be a great idea! Let's go hon!" Gallows grabbed Clive and they proceeded to tango down the stairs while humming tango music. Virginia burst out in laughter, and even Jet gave a little chuckle.

"So... We should go after them now huh?" Virginia said, grabbing Jet's arm and pulling him along with her. Jet just shrugged and went with it.

* * *

**10:20 A.M – Oasis Buffet**

The 'couples' had pulled up a table at the fabulous Oasis Buffet – good food, nice service, and very romantic during the night. It was still fairly early, so it wasn't very crowded. Just the way Jet liked it, even though he believed this was too posh for his tastes.

"Well, it's eat-all-you-can, so I'm gonna do just that!" Gallows glowed with pride of having the title of the 'rubbish bin' of the group, meaning when everyone was done eating, he would eat whatever they left. When he ate, good lord he ate.

Gallows took off for the meat section carrying three plates and a massive spoon he always carried around for such an occasion. He began shoveling everything he could reach. The others just stared in amazement.

"That never fails to amaze and scare me." Jet muttered under his breath, but the others heard him nonetheless.

"He eats enough to feel a small cow." Clive stated, causing Virginia to burst out laughing. Then she realized he was serious.

"Well anyway, I'm starving! Let's get some grub!" Virginia got up and grabbed her plate. Clive and Jet followed soon after. They returned a few minutes later with plates filled with food. Virginia had chicken salad and soup, Jet had a piece of lamb and some mashed potatoes, Clive had fish with lemongrass, and Gallows pretty much had the meaty equivalent of a full grown pig.

"Thish shtuff issh gray!" Gallows said with a mouthful of three different meats (Gosh that must taste weird). He drowned it with a swig of beer. "Ahh... I love this place!" He had tears in his eyes, and looked like he was going to get really emotional about his food. But he just sniffed it off and continued his eat-fest.

"Well, enough about the food, what're we gonna do now?" Jet asked, keen to earn more money and stop wasting time here. Unfortunately, Virginia thought otherwise.

"We paid quite a lot of money to get in here, so I think..." Virginia took a sip of her tea. "... We should spend some time here! Only for awhile, we just need a break."

"I guess it should be fine." Clive said. "Besides, it means I have more time with my baby here." Clive joked putting his hand on Gallows' shoulder. Gallows gave a hearty laugh.

"I agree. We should stay and PARTY!" Gallows got up and put one foot on his chair, and whipped out his Kramer Dolls and gave a little performance. He got himself a standing ovation. He shouted a few 'thankyou's then sat down again to join his laughing comrades. Jet on the other hand was still peeved at the thought of staying, but he didn't bother to argue.

"I'm done eating. I'm gonna go take a walk or something." Jet got up and started to walk away. Then he remembered about his blushing problem. "Hey Professor," he was referring to Clive. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course." Clive got up and followed Jet. When they were out of earshot, Gallows cast a confusing look at Virginia.

"Not very often do you see the punk actually want to talk." Gallows said.

"What if it's really important?" Virginia said, wondering what could worry Jet.

"Or MAYBE he's trying to take my date!" Gallows laughed out loud, which stopped abruptly when Virginia broke her teacup on his head.

* * *

**10:50 A.M – Top floor of Oasis Inn**

"So what seems to be the problem, Jet?" Clive inquired. Jet continued to explain his problem, including blushing at Virginia's comments, her hugging him, and so on.

"So... Could this be some kind of poison from my wound?" Jet unconsciously put a hand on his stomach.

Clive chuckled. "I don't think that's it. I guess you could call it 'poison in the heart', and it's very common. No doubt you've been feeling really strange recently, probably a little light-headed, you say things without knowing it, and basically don't feel like your ordinary loner self?" Jet nodded.

"Poison in the heart? But I have an artificial heart don't I? Why would ordinary diseases affect it?" Jet clutched his chest, checking if it would hurt. After finding it didn't, he relaxed, and slumped over the roof's railing.

"Haha, I guess I should try and make it clearer. Let's see..." Clive didn't want to just say he's in love so plainly, since he knew Jet would just deny it and run off. "Your heart is experiencing a new emotion, and because it doesn't know much about it, it's confusing the rest of your body, causing you to feel weak at times, massive blood rush to your face, instinctive desires to do things you normally wouldn't, and a few more things." Clive stepped beside Jet and put his hand on his shoulder. "Try not to think about it too much. You'll understand everything in time, so for now just trust your instincts like you always do."

"...Yeah, whatever. Thanks." Jet looked out at the view of the resort, still thinking about what was going on with him. Just then, Virginia and Gallows had entered.

"So here's where you two got off two!" Gallows said as they walked up to them. Jet turned around to face them. "Come on, we're gonna go to the pool! Join us guys! Especially you Jet!" Gallows stepped beside him and gave him a nudge. Then he whispered "You'll get to see your treasure in a bathing suit!" Jet's face started to burn.

"What was that?" Virginia asked. She was almost certain that it was something dirty.

"Um... I said you could find some treasure... to loot! Like if someone dropped something, he could take it! I'm just trying to get him to come! HAHAHA!" Gallows said, throwing an arm around Jet, who was still blushing at his earlier comment. Before Virginia could continue asking questions, Gallows was already dragging Jet back to the stairs. "Come on Clive, we gotta get changed!"

"We'll meet you at the pool." Clive told Virginia before following Gallows.

* * *

**11:20 A.M – At the Pool**

Jet, Clive and Gallows came out wearing their swimming clothes, with Jet and Clive in shorts, and Gallows in Speedos. They found a free table by the pool and took a seat to wait for their leader.

"What could be taking her so long?" Jet said, annoyed that she wasn't very punctual all the time.

"Girls will be girls. They like to make sure they're perfect before doing anything." Clive continued looking around in case she had already arrived.

"Besides, all that primping must be for you anyway!" Gallows added. Jet went red and got up.

"W-Whatever! I'm gonna take a walk!" Jet stormed off, desperate to get away from them.

"Aw man it's so damn funny to tease that brat!" Gallows congratulated himself. Clive just sighed and got up.

"I'm going for a couple of laps, care to join me?"

"Nah, I'm gonna go find some ladies to have a little fun!" Gallows grinned and waved as he ran towards a group of young ladies, eager to meet them.

Clive just smiled, took off his glasses and left them on the table, and headed for one of the lanes.

* * *

**11:27 A.M – Swimming Pool**

Jet had found a nice, empty area in the pool, which he took advantage of and got in. The water was perfect, the temperature warmed up by the sun. He was at a shallow part of the pool, so he was able to sit down without too much trouble. He still thought about what Clive had told him.

"Follow my instincts, huh." Jet said quietly, staring at his hand. The hand that instinctively grabbed Virginia rather than treasure. "Whatever."

"Hey Jet!" He recognized the voice as Virginia's and turned around to see Virginia dressed in her bathing suit. It had the same purple as her usual dress, and it was a two-piece. It also had a little skirt on it. Jet was taken back by how good she looked, figure and all.

"H-Hey!" Jet said louder than he meant to, making Virginia giggle. She walked over and stood in front of him, then bent over to level her face with his.

"You don't look like you're having a lot of fun Jet!" Virginia smiled at him, and Jet went even redder.

' _Stupid poison!' _Jet threw water on his face. "This is... _Fun_." Jet said sarcastically. Virginia then had an idea, and proceeded to dunk his head under the water again.

"What aga-"Jet was once more cut off due to a flow of water into his mouth.

"Gotcha again!" Virginia yelled before running off. Jet coughed up some water and ran after her.

"I'm not gonna hold back anymore!" Jet yelled and chased after her. _'I guess I really am acting differently, but I guess... this isn't so bad, right?' _Jet continued to chase her and finally managed to grab her and dunk her under. "Take that!"

Clive had been watching this, and thought they'd make a great couple. _'Now we just wait for Jet to work out that he's in love, and those two should be set!'_ Clive was reminiscing about his adolescent days with his girlfriend, who was now his wife. He sighed and continued his laps.

They had been playing for almost thirty-five minutes, and Jet and Virginia were feeling hungry. They got out of the pool and grabbed some towels courtesy of the Inn. They headed over to a snack stand and bought some fries.

"So that was fun, wasn't it?" Virginia said to Jet.

"Yeah, whatever." Jet was unable to hide his entire smile, instead breaking out a strange half-smile, one side of his mouth up and the other remained still. Virginia just laughed.

They had been eating for a while before hearing a commotion followed by gunshots inside the building. Jet quickly got up and grabbed Virginia and pulled her down.

"Just put the money in the bag and no one gets hurt!" A man wearing a scarf around his face was shoving a bag at the bellboy behind the counter and pointing a sub machine gun at him. Behind him were two others holding pistols watching two security guards they had tied up.

"Jet, we gotta do something!" Virginia whispered loudly into Jet's ear.

"Don't be stupid, we don't have our ARMs here!"

"But Jet..."

"Don't worry, I'll handle it."

MIDDAY  
  
END DAY 2

* * *

Author's Note: For some reason my text doesn't always come out as bold even if I want it to. Oh well it isn't that big a deal, so snuff it!  
  
NEXT TIME!

Jet has to stop these thugs, but how will he do it without his ARM? And will Clive and Gallows arrive to back him up? Other plans have also gone in motion, and Jet seems to revolve around most of them, whether he likes it or not!


	3. You can't Win

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for the reviews everyone! I'm doing my best to balance out the action, romance, and humor so that there's something everyone can enjoy! Expect to see more women chasing Jet (and maybe just for kicks Clive, but not Gallows. He must suffer!) and maybe for a little romantic jealously guys can chase Virginia! I'm so mean to Jet D. Anyway here's the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: **Expensive computer - $400. Microsoft Office XP - $80. The look on Gallows' face when I tell him I don't own Wild ARMs? – Priceless.

DAY 2 (cont.) – You Can't Win

* * *

**12:03 P.M – Outside the Lobby**

Jet took in his surroundings and tried to work out what to do. _'First thing, the enemies. One carrying an SMG, the other two pistols. No one else in view, so let's concentrate on what we got. There's a couple of pillars in the lobby, that should provide some decent cover if I can move fast enough, hopefully I can also sneak up on them and have the initiative.' _Jet looked back at Virginia. He was very much aware that while she was energetic like a machine, she wouldn't be safe trying to keep up with him.

"Go around the building and find another way to our room. I want you to get our ARMs and get back here." Jet's eyes still continued to glance around, still unsure of how to pull this off.

"What about you? I'm not going to leave without you." Virginia said, holding onto his arm.

"Don't worry about me, I have a plan." _'Tch, yeah right.' _Jet didn't feel right lying, but he knew he didn't have time for any arguments. "The faster you find a way there, the faster you can get back."

Virginia finally gave in, and began to sneak around to the opposite side of the building. Jet had also begun his silent progress into the lobby, heading for the closest pillar.

* * *

**12:10 P.M – Virginia and Jet's Room**

Virginia had found a staircase along the side of the hotel, the fire escape route. She ran up to her room and hurriedly grabbed her ARMs before searching for Jet's. Just then she heard a noise coming from outside the door. The sound of an ARM being loaded.

'_Oh crap.' _ Virginia started looking for an exit, before hearing another sound coming from her window, a somewhat similar sound of loading. She was surrounded.

* * *

**12:13 P.M – The Lobby**

Jet had made some excellent progress, now only a few meters away from the band of thugs. He had cover behind a pillar, but without his ARM, his options were limited. Upon closer inspection he noticed that they had already collected their money, yet they remained, still holding up the lobby. _'I thought the whole point of robbing someone was to grab the money and leave.' _Jet felt that something wasn't right. He decided to ponder about it later and get on with stopping them here and now. _'I need a weapon..." _Jet looked around for a suitable weapon. All he found was a suitcase full of business papers that had fallen out of the baggage trolley, a stack of logs tied together in the corner, a half-full bottle of wine rolling around the floor, and a lit candle on a nearby table. _'Okay, let's do this!' _

"Where are they?" One the pistol-toting bandits asked his boss.

"Be patient fool, Eroz will arrive soon." His boss spoke coolly, with little emotion in his voice.

"Heard he's one crazy bastard, you sure we can trust him?" The other bandit spoke up.

His boss glared at him icily. "If he heard you say that, he would make make you beg for death." His underlings flinched at the thought of it.

Suddenly Jet rolled out of the cover of the pillar, carrying the suitcase and the wine bottle. The bandits saw him but didn't react fast enough. Jet had broken the bottle of wine into the suitcase, filling it with shards of glass and smelly wine. Then he threw it into the air on top of the bandits. "Catch!"

They looked up to see a heap of wine-soaked papers and glass fall on them, causing them to shield their heads with their hands. Their level-headed leader had seen this coming, and had already ran for cover.

"What the hell?" One of the bandits had returned their attention to Jet, to find him still holding the broken wine bottle, as well as a candle. His jaw dropped when he realized what he was going to do.

"Look out!" he yelled, but Jet had already thrown the candle in their direction, then turned around and cut the logs free using the wine bottle. A barrage of wooden poles went flying at the two unlucky bandits. The candle hit the floor near them, setting the area around them alight in a burst of flame. Then the logs followed and trampled them into the floor. Needless to say it was a painful experience for the lowly bandits.

Jet looked around for the last of the trio, who he found had climbed up to one of the balconies above the lobby. He let loose a volley of bullets, but Jet had already ducked for cover behind a pillar.

"You are indeed quite the warrior, and very resourceful too." The man let off another volley of bullets. "But it is quite unfortunate that I must kill you now." He had Jet cornered, and the pillar was running thin thanks to the constant rain of lead.

BOOM.

"Ugh!" The leader made a barely audible yell of pain as he dropped his weapon over the railing. Blood was gushing out of his palm, but it was almost as though he hadn't noticed. Jet looked out and saw Clive and the gang standing outside, with Clive's rifle smoking from his recently fired shot.

"Took your time." Jet said, although he was still glad to see them.

"You OK, punk?" Gallows and company had headed over to him to check how he was doing.

"Fine. Let's get that bastard." Jet led the other guys up the staircase and headed for the balcony, only to find a pile of blood leading to the window. Clive ran over and saw no sign of him.

"We lost him." Clive adjusted his sunglasses. "Well, at least everyone's OK."

"Not quite." Laughed Gallows looking down from the balcony. He saw the other two bandits – well, what was left of them – twitching on the floor. Apparently the logs had managed to put the fire out for them, but not before it burnt them fairly badly. "Damn Jet, maybe you don't even need your ARM!" He cracked up and threw him his Airget.

"Hey guys I found something." Virginia was looking at something stuck to the wall. "There's a note here."

Clive walked over and saw a piece of paper stuck into the wall with a pocket knife. He pulled it out and pocketed it, then read the note aloud.

"Dear Resourceful, you are indeed very good at surviving, and it seems you have some skilled friends too. But be aware that you have now become the sworn enemy of the Fallen. I advise you to watch your back, because next time, you'll have to deal with the Devil himself. –O13325"

The gang stood silent trying to work out the meaning of it all.

"Hey! Is anyone in there?" The local authorities had arrived, led by the two security guards that were previously held hostage.

"We better get out of here before they blame us for this." Jet said. The others agreed, and they jumped out the window. Jet and Clive landed first and caught Virginia, followed by Gallows crashing into the floor. They hauled him onto his horse and hastily made their retreat.

* * *

**2:30 P.M – Arrival at Humphrey's Peak**

After riding nonstop for around an hour, they arrived at Humphrey's Peak, Clive's hometown. The place was as dead as ever in Jet's eyes, but Clive didn't agree.

"Home is where the heart is, Jet. Maybe someday you'll find yourself a nice place to settle down, and you'll see what I mean." Clive smiled at Jet, who just shrugged.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving!" Gallows bellowed.

"You're always hungry, Chunky-Butt." Jet said, receiving a kick to the head from Gallows. Instant KO.

"So let's eat!" Gallows grabbed Jet's body off the floor and dragged him into Clive's house. Virginia and Clive sighed and followed.

"Hiya Daddy!" Kaitlyn had come rushing across the room at the sound of the door.

"Hello Kaitlyn." Clive crouched down to give his daughter a hug. "Have you been taking care of your mother?"

"Yep! I just helped Mommy bake some pies!" Kaitlyn beamed proudly. Her mother stepped out of the kitchen to greet Clive and his friends.

"Hello honey!" She gave Clive a kiss on the cheek. "Hello everyone! How are you all?"

"Couldn't be better!" Gallows stated, walking over to the couch and dumping Jet onto it.

"What happened?" Catherine pointed at Jet.

"He's just hungry! Is it OK if we eat?" Gallows gave a hearty laugh.

"Don't be so rude!" Virginia scolded Gallows.

Catherine laughed; they were all as she remembered. Gallows was always hungry, Virginia always kept them in line, and Jet was as quiet as ever. She looked at Clive. "Are you all going to be staying the night?"

"Probably awhile longer, I'm going to studying on some things." Clive was referring to their new enemies.

"That would be nice, after all, the town's going to be celebrating for the Guardian Festival tonight." Kaitlyn's face lit up at the mention of the festival.

"Daddy! I wanna go to the festival!" Kaitlyn pleaded.

"Sorry sweetie, I'm going to be caught up in my work. Maybe my friends could take you?"

"Really?" She immediately ran up to Jet. "Jet! Will you take me?"

Jet was still woozy from Gallows' kick, and wasn't paying attention.

"Huh? Yeah, whatever." Jet mumbled, and fell asleep.

"Yay! Thanks Jet!" Kaitlyn bounced with happiness. Virginia giggled at Jet's unconscious promise.

"Everyone take a seat, I'll bring out some pies!" Catherine called from the kitchen. Gallows gave a holler and jumped into a seat. Clive and Virginia joined him. Jet had barely come to, and noticing that everyone headed for the table, went to join them.

* * *

**3:30 P.M – Clive's House**

"I said WHAT?" Jet had just found out about his promise to Kaitlyn.

"You said you'd take her to the festival tonight!" Virginia said again, flipping through a magazine in the lounge. Jet was leaning on the wall, still trying to remember when he said that. "Just go Jet, or she'll hate you." Jet just sighed and gave in.

"When is it?" Jet felt a migraine coming along.

"The festival opening is on 7 o' clock. Oh yeah, and you have to wear traditional robes." Virginia stopped reading for a moment, trying to picture Jet in robes. Her face went light pink.

Jet got up from the wall and slumped onto the coach next to Virginia. He looked around and noticed that no one seemed to be around.

"Where'd everyone go?"

"Catherine left Kaitlyn with a neighbor and left to help out at the festival. Clive is going through his books to see if he can find something on the Fallen, he said he thought he heard of the name before. And Gallows is taking care of the horses."

"So it's just us huh?" Jet and Virginia needed a second to react, before they both blushed and started feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Um... The Guardian Festival sounds like it'll be fun." Virginia tried to break the awkward silence.

"Don't even know what it's for."

"I think it was some kind of old celebration that used to take place a long time ago, the birth of the Guardians or something."

"Oh. Okay."

The awkward silence returned.

"Well, I'm going to take a bath." Virginia got up and headed for the stairs. "Don't peek now!" She teased, making Jet's face light up like an oven.

"W-Whatever!" Jet looked away, and Virginia giggled and went up.

Jet lay down on the couch and put his arms behind his head. _'Clive said I'd find out what this is, but I still have no idea! It's driving me crazy!' _Jet closed his eyes. _'I wonder why it's only with Virginia...' _The sound of the bath filling with water gave him some strange thoughts, making him go red again. _'I really need to work this out fast.'_

* * *

**3:50 P.M – The Bath**

Virginia had folded her clothes neatly and let off her hair before entering the tub of warm water. She lowered her shoulders and soaked them in the refreshing warmth.

'_I wonder... if Jet likes me...' _She looked up at the ceiling. _'Back at the Tomb, he saved me and he didn't take anything else. Normally it would be money first, but that time...' _Virginia shook her head. _'No, Jet just didn't have time. It didn't mean anything special.'_ She dipped her face into the water and scrubbed it. _'Maybe... I should let Jet know how I feel..." _She smiled at the thought of telling him and having her feeling returned.

"Jet... I love you!" She looked down and had tears in her eyes. "I've loved you for a long time!" The man walked up to her and embraced her. "Virginia...I have always loved you, and I always will." She looked up at him. He pulled her face to his...

Suddenly the scene changes to a bedroom. Virginia is wearing a beautiful wedding dress, and Jet is wearing a snazzy tuxedo, cradling her in his arms. "Jet, no... I don't think I'm ready." She eyed the bed blushing. "Virginia... I love you too much. I need you." He threw her onto the bed, and climbed on after her. "No...Jet...Ah...Not that..."

Virginia was in a daze and had drool coming out of her mouth. Her face was flushed and she had a funny looking grin on her face.

"Virginia... Oh Virginia...VIRGINIA!"

"Huh?" Virginia finally snapped out of lovey lovey mode and realized Jet was banging on her door.

"Virginia! You OK? You've been there for an hour!"

She looked at her fingers, and found that they had shriveled up.

"I'm fine! I just fell asleep!" Virginia called out. She then got out and dried herself. She wrapped a towel around herself and opened the door, to find a surprised and flustered Jet staring at her.

"A-Are you OK?" Jet said, trying to keep his eyes on her face.

"Yeah, sorry for making you worry!" Virginia then remembered something. "You said my name! I don't hear you say it very often. Can't you say it more?" Virginia playfully walked closer to Jet and bent over to get her face closer to his, causing him to blush even harder.

"W-What...Yeah, w-whatever." Jet bolted down the stairs and returned to lying on the couch. Virginia just smiled and went to a bedroom to get changed for the festival.

* * *

**6:30 P.M – Clive's House**

"The festival is all set. It's going to be just outside the town. I trust you'll take good care of Kaitlyn?" Clive asked Jet.

"Yeah, whatever." Clive handed Jet a set of grayish blue robes. It was made up of a pair of black, baggy pants and robes long enough to cover Jet's feet.

"It's tradition that everybody wear the Guardian Robes, so I asked Catherine to make some for everyone." He then handed Virginia a light green robe, and Gallows a blood red one.

"Thanks a lot, Catherine! These look great!" Virginia admired her new clothes.

"Think nothing of it! I'm sure you'll all look fabulous." Catherine said brightly. "I'll be working at the festival, so I might see you all there!"

"We'll keep an eye out for you! Thanks for the robes!" Gallows headed up the stairs eager to get changed.

"Whatever." Jet also headed upstairs, indifferent to what he was going to wear.

After a few minutes the two came back down in their new attire. Gallows looked something like a boxer due to his bulky build. Jet on the other hand was much more sleek, resembling a fairy-tale samurai.

"You look great Jet!" Virginia was surprised at how amazing he looked, especially since he didn't have scarves blocking his face. Virginia liked it quite a lot.

Jet went red and just shrugged.

"Hey what about me?" Gallows said, standing straight. "Don't I look like a handsome knight?"

Everyone just laughed at him. Gallows thought for a moment, trying to see if he missed a joke or something.

"Well, I guess Catherine, Kaitlyn and I should change." Virginia and the ladies went upstairs to get changed as well.

"Try not to drool too much when you see her come down, lover boy." Gallows sniggered, watching Jet's face go as red as Gallows' robes.

Kaitlyn and Catherine were the first to come down the stairs.

"You look great honey!" Clive complimented his wife.

"Don't I look good too Jet?" Kaitlyn ran up to Jet and hugged him.

Jet rolled his eyes and said "Yeah, whatever." Then Virginia came down, and when Jet saw her, he was taken back.

Virginia had let her hair out of its braid, letting it all loosely fall across her back and on her shoulders. Her robes also brought out the color of her eyes. Jet had to admit that she looked great.

"Sorry I took so long!" Virginia apologized shyly. "Let's go!"

After waving farewell to Clive, the group headed for the Guardian Festival.

* * *

**6:54 P.M – In the Wastelands outside the Festival**

"There they are! Those are the guys who stopped out heist this morning!" The man cradled his bandaged arm.

"You mean you called me, the greatest, super-powerful 'Devil' to deal with some nerd, a Chunky-Butt Baskar, some kid, and a chick?" The man spoke with a deep and sarcastic voice. He was very well built, yet slim at the same time. He had long black hair with blond tips, which was tied into a ponytail behind his head. As for his clothing, he wore a chain mail, something that wasn't seem very often nowadays, and tight, black pants. He didn't have an ARM, instead he concealed whatever his weapon was in a huge, long sheath of cloth. It was at least twice his size.

"Uhh... Yeah, that's what I called you for." The injured man flinched, knowing he was about to get hurt. He was right.

"Moron! You better hope this is a good fight!" He swung his weapon and whacked him in the face, sending him flying a good twenty feet. "Not get up and let's go!" He called out before setting off for the Festival. "Why must I be working with such a bunch of idiots?"

**6:55 P.M – The Guardian Festival**

The Festival was streaming with lights and party music was booming all around (think techno, but with drums. Funky.). Many stalls were lined up selling food or toys, and there were a lot of games too. Not only were everyone from Humphrey's Peak there, but it seemed there were plenty more people. Jet gazed in annoyance.

"I hate crowds. I hate festivals. I hate lights. I hate loud music. I ha-"Gallows punched him into the ground.

"We get it, whiny boy! Shut up already!" Virginia gave a nervous grin, and tried to pull out Jet's lower half from the ground. He was literally punched into the ground.

After getting him out, Kaitlyn grabbed him. "Come on Jet, let's go play!"

Jet once again was delirious from the last blow. "Ugh... Yeah, playtime, wheeoeoeoee!!!" Jet started walking around in circles, slowly heading for the stalls, as Virginia and Gallows stood there unsure of whether to check if he was OK, or to laugh their butts off at what he was saying. In the end, they chose to follow and make sure he didn't hurt himself, or anybody else for that matter, he looked like he could mistake someone for a monster and pummel them into oblivion.

"Jet! Win me that teddy! Pleaaaase?" Kaitlyn was tugging on Jet to play a ball throwing game, where you had get two of three balls into a basket that was tilted 45 degrees (I've played this myself, and it's surprisingly hard!). The current Jet was up for anything, so he just threw some cash down and groggily picked up his first ball.

"Heeeyy batter batter batter. Sa-wing batter!" He yelled stupidly before throwing the first ball. It bounced back out and hit him in the face. "Aw that was bad. Go again!" he said to himself before picking up the second. Just before he threw, someone bumped him from behind, and he accidentally let go of the ball, only to watch it fall... Right into the basket. Score one! "Okay one more!" Jet's dizziness hadn't gotten any better. He turned around and chucked it in the opposite direction, only to have it bounce off one of the stall poles, ricochet into one of the hanging lanterns, bounce on his head, hit the stand keeper on the nose, and bouncing right into the basket. "There you go kid, I got you toy. I think I need to sit down." Jet was coming to a little bit, and felt a massive headache coming along.

"Yay! Thanks Jet!" Kaitlyn squealed in joy as she was handed the teddy she wanted. Jet just took her to a bench and had a seat.

"Oh God..." Jet put his hands on his head, trying to massage the pain out.

"There you are!" Virginia had been looking for him to make sure he was alright.

He looked up. "Yo." He still looked really nauseous. Virginia tried to help him relax by patting him on the back. "Where's Mt. Fuji?" Jet was talking about Gallows. Virginia laughed.

"He's getting drunk and eating himself stupid at the same time." She laughed out loud again. "Don't worry! You're fine, right?" Virginia tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah, whatever. I will be in a minute." He felt it die down a bit more. Just then a lady came running up to them. Jet focused his eyes to realize it was Catherine.

"Thank goodness I found you two! I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need to ask you a really big favor!" Catherine looked pretty panicked. Jet and Virginia looked at her, waiting to see what the big problem was. "We were meant to have a play, but our two lead actors couldn't do it because they're sick!"

At another part of the festival, behind the scenes of the stage, a couple could be seen tied up, with a sign on them saying 'Please leave them be. I'll let them go after the play ). Catherine."

"Please, I need you two to take their places!" Virginia squealed in delight. Jet groaned in agony, and felt another migraine coming on.

"We'll do it!" Virginia said happily.

"No we wo-"He was cut off.

"I SAID WE'LL DO IT!" Virginia was trying to smile, but Jet could tell this was one of those times to just give in again.

"...YEAH, WHATEVER!" Jet tried not to sound pissed, but he did.

"Thank you, both of you! Come with me! You too Kaitlyn, you can help them prepare!" Kaitlyn just jumped with joy and grabbed her mother's arm.

* * *

**7:20 P.M – Behind the Scenes**

"Okay so here's the story in a nutshell." The director was filling in our duo on the play. "First off, the main characters are Cecilia, the daughter of Raftina the Goddess, and Rudy, the son of a devil. One day, they both meet each other at a Guardian Festival, which Rudy had gone to in order to fight the Guardians with his comrades. They are both disguised as humans, so they didn't know that they were meant to be enemies. They dance and end up falling for one another. After the party, they attack each other, only to find that they are on opposing forces. Nonetheless, they still loved each other. The Guardians and Devils tried to separate them, telling them it wasn't meant to be, except for Raftina, who knew their love was true. She talks to Rudy to find out his true feelings for her daughter, and he tells her that he'd do anything for, blah blah blah, then Raftina whisks them off to Filgaia, and live happily ever after!"

Virginia and Jet tried to take it all in.

"That doesn't sound like something that can be learned in only ten minutes." They play was to start at 7:30. "What happens if we forget our lines?"

"Don't worry, just ad lib, I'm sure that a couple like you two would know what to say to one another!" The director chuckled at a very embarrassed Jet and Virginia.

"I-It's not like that really!" Virginia stuttered.

"Y-Yeah!" Jet joined in.

"Now's not the time for that, you two must rehearse immediately!" He threw them some books containing the script. "Get to it, lovers!"

Jet and Virginia had rehearsed until the play was about to begin. Jet was really nervous, since he didn't like attention. Virginia on the other hand was taking it quite well.

"Just have fun, OK?" Virginia comforted Jet, who, as usual, just shrugged.

The play began, and Jet and Virginia did their parts as best they could. Gallows, Catherine and Kaitlyn had joined the crowd to watch them.

"So my plan worked, didn't it?" Gallows' evil smile came up again.

"Quite well!" Catherine said happily.

They laughed and enjoyed the rest of the show. They finally reached the final scene, with 'Rudy' talking to Raftina about how much he loved 'Cecilia'.

"Rudy, you claim that you love my daughter?" Raftina said with a very melancholy voice. Jet opened his mouth to speak but realized he forgot his lines.

'_Shit!'_ Jet started to panic until a voice in his head spoke up. It sounded annoyingly like Gallows _'Just spill the beans, lover boy! Say it like you were talking about Virginia herself! No one'll know anyway!'_ Jet was shocked.

'_I...Love Virginia???"_

He was going to start pondering before he remembered where he was.

'Dammit, what the hell, let's do it.'

"Yes, Raftina, I love her very much. She is more important to me than money!" The crowd had a laugh. "I love the way she's always there for me. I love the way she always smiles at me. I love they way she worries about me. And I love the way she cares about me, because I care about her!" The crowd was almost in tears from Jet's touching speech. 'Cecilia' walked onto the stage.

"Oh Rudy, is that true?" Virginia was a really good actor, she was blushing and her eyes were watered a bit. Well, if she was acting anyway.

"Cecilia, do you really love Rudy?" Raftina looked at Virginia.

"Yes... I love him with all my heart. I know he thinks that no one cares about him, but I do. I love him for protecting me so many times, and caring about me, even if he pretends not to. And... I'll love him forever!" The crowd was really letting off the waterworks. Even Gallows had a tear in his eye.

"Vi...No, Cecilia... I don't know if I can ever say this again... But I swear on the stars in the sky, that I will always love you. From now until the end of time!" Jet couldn't believe he could say such things, and was glad everyone thought it was part of the play. The audience had broken into a standing ovation. Cheers and hollers could be heard throughout the Festival. When the crowd calmed down, Raftina continued.

"I know see you truly love each other. So I will let both of you live happily in another world known as Filgaia." Raftina raised her arms to send them to Filgaia.

"Not so fast." A man from behind the crowd said. Everyone turned to see an injured man along with a strong looking man in chain mail. Jet recognized the guy from the resort right away, but he was unfamiliar with the other. 'Chain Mail' began walking up to the stage.

"So, you are the one that attacked my friend here." He said calmly. Jet didn't want the crowd to panic, so he played along.

"Your friend was merely involved in a war. A war I don't plan to fight any longer." He walked up to him to separate him from Virginia. "But if you plan to fight, I will destroy you here and now."

Chain Mail broke into a smile. "You really think you, a lowly devil, can defeat ME?" It seemed he knew he continued acting, and personally he enjoyed the attention. "Ha! You are nothing compared to me! I am the great Eroz! Demon of Death!"

Jet recognized the name from the resort as well. "So you are the demon I heard about. Pledging allegiance to neither Guardians nor Devils." He pulled out 'Rudy's' sword. Fortunately he asked them to give him a real one rather than the crappy wooden one. He pointed it at Eroz. "I guess if I am to be at peace with my beloved Cecilia, then I must defeat you!"

"Well then, let's settle this." He unsheathed his massive weapon to reveal a sword at least twice the man's size. It resembled the shape of a paddle oar, but made of steel. "This is a legendary weapon of the Demons. The Ragnarok!" He swung it around with surprising ease. "Do you think you can defeat it? I think not!" He lunged at him. "HAAAAH!!!"

* * *

**8:20 P.M – Gallows**

Gallows saw Jet and Eroz begin to duke it out. "This isn't part of the play! It's real! Shit, I gotta get our ARMs!" He got up and ran to get to Clive's place as soon as possible. A familiar one-armed man cut him off.

"Not so fast, Baskar!" He said, holding a shotgun in his remaining hand. "I'm gonna make sure you don't interfere!" He raised his gun and prepared to fire.

"Oh crap!" Gallows ran and dived over one of the stands, followed by a rain of lead. He peeked out, to see he had already dived for a stall at the other end. Gallows began crawling down the rows in an attempt to reach the exit, since he had no ARM to defend himself with. Luckily it seemed their friend didn't know this yet, but he would find out sooner or later. Another shell pounded into his stall.

"I'll get you, Baskar!" The one armed man pulled out a grenade from his pocket and lunged it at the stalls.

Gallows saw it and started sweating. "Oh cripes."

BOOM.

Gallows managed to get away just in time. But before he knew it, another grenade came flying. "Man this guy's a walking artillery station!"

BOOM. BOOM.

More grenades kept coming. Finally Gallows had an idea. He looked up and saw another grenade coming. He jumped up and grabbed it, and chucked it back. "Take this, biyaatch!"

"Huh?" He definitely wasn't prepared to see a grenade flying at him, and didn't have enough time to react.

BOOM.

The one-armed man was blown away. It was hard to tell if he was still alive, but personally Gallows didn't give the fudge.

"Booya!" Gallows said before running off to get their ARMs.

* * *

**8:40 P.M – On Stage**

"Hah!" Eroz swung the massive Ragnarok in a horizontal slash, but Jet was too quick. He jumped over it and ran at Eroz, hoping to get close enough to hit him.

"No you don't!" Eroz was more prepared than he expected, and lunged a kick into Jet's gut. "I'm not a fool, I know the weakness of my Ragnarok it that I can't fight in close quarters. So I taught myself to fight in unarmed combat!" He drew his blade around him and prepared a vertical strike onto the floored Jet.

"Woah!" Jet rolled over just in the nick of time, with the blade crashing through the floor of the stage.

"Jet!" Virginia yelled.

"Stay back, Cecilia! I will deal with this fiend!" She realized that he was trying to keep the audience from panicking. As much as she wanted to help him, she knew they had to keep acting. The audience just stared in awe, convinced this was all planned.

Eroz had swung his blade up again for another vertical strike, but Jet had anticipated this and tried to get him while his strength focused on lifting the blade above him. This time he managed a hit.

"Take this!" Jet yelled and swung with all his might into Eroz's torso.

CLINK.

"Fool!" He kicked Jet back again, this time harder. "That pitiful weapon can't break through my enchanted armor! You can't win!" He taunted Jet as he mustered his strength to get up !!" It was killing Virginia to do nothing, but even if she did, she knew she'd only get in the way. She was nowhere near as proficient in close combat as Jet was.

Jet was using all his strength to get up again, feeling consciousness leave him. His eyes were blurry, and he couldn't make out what Eroz was going to do next. _'This really sucks.'_ He had to do something fast or he was a goner. Then he had an idea. He only had one chance, so he forced his eyes to focus and waited for the right time.

"I can see you barely have the strength to move, let alone stand." Eroz mocked. "However I will congratulate you! No one has ever fought me for longer than ten minutes! But now, I must kill you. Farewell!" He threw his weapon up into the air to prepare for his final strike. _'NOW!'_

Suddenly Jet burst into a run right at Eroz. He thrusted right into his face and tried something he'd never done before.

"GATLING ATTACK!" Jet's arm started slashing at Eroz's face with god-like speed. Eroz dropped his Ragnarok behind him in surprise. After slashing him almost fifteen times, he pulled back in exhaustion. "There... It's over."

"For you maybe." Jet froze at the sound of his voice. He looked and saw him still standing there, but his face was torn to shreds, revealing something underneath. "You...You're an android?!?" Jet couldn't move, he was too tired to continue the fight.

"Yes, I am not human! I am more than human! There is nothing alive that can stop me! And now that everyone here knows..."He walked closer and whispered so only Jet could hear him. "I'll have to slaughter every last one of them.

"No..." Jet tried to get up, but Eroz had grabbed his neck and pulled him off the ground, choking him.

"JET!!" Virginia screamed, falling to her knees. She wanted to help him, but she was scared. She knew she couldn't do anything to stop him.

"I'll never forget you, boy!" Eroz smiled evilly and began to squeeze his neck. Suddenly...

BANG.

A gunshot rang out and hit Eroz in the arm holding up Jet. He let Jet go, but showed no sign of feeling pain. He looked over to see Clive pointing his rifle at him. Gallows was there too, pointing his Coyote at him.

"Virginia, catch!" Gallows threw over her guns, and Virginia promptly picked them up and took aim.

Eroz looked around and smiled. "Such pesky people you all are. Even when you can't win, you still fight. How exciting!" He grinned smugly. "I have decided to let you live awhile longer. I want to see if you can become strong enough to defeat me." He looked at Jet. "This one especially. I have not met anyone who could fight better than this man." He picked up his Ragnarok and replaced it in his sheath. "Good day to you all." In a flash of light, he disappeared.

"Jet!" Virginia ran over to check her friend. "Oh God, Jet! Please be alright!" Gallows and Clive had already run onto the stage. Clive quickly checked for Jet's vital signs.

"He's alive. Barely." Clive looked worriedly.

"Uh... Guys. What do we do about this?" Gallows nodded at the crowd, who were watching intently. They remembered they thought it was still a play. Then Clive had an idea. He whispered in Gallows' ear, and Virginia noticed Gallows' face go red. "Aw hell, you always do this to me! I hate you!" He said childishly, but he got up and spoke to the audience.

"I... I am the reincarnation of Raftina!" The crowd burst out in laughter. "I have come down to help send Rudy and Cecilia to the new world Filgaia, where they may live happily forever!" The crowd gave a clap and Gallows returned to the gang. Clive was holding onto something that resembled a bomb, but slightly grayer.

"Ready? 3...2...1...NOW!" He triggered the bomb.

POOF.

A cloud of smoke came out, and Clive carried Jet and led everyone off the stage. The smoke faded to reveal an empty stage. Gallows had begun narrating from off stage.

"And so Rudy and Cecilia were whisked away to the land of Filgaia, where they lived happily ever after! The End!" The crowd roared out in applause. But the gang had other things to attend to.

"We're going back to my house. Jet needs to rest." The others nodded and followed.

* * *

**9:30 P.M – Clive's House**

Jet had his chest bandaged from broken ribs due to Eroz's massive kicks. He had been put to bed and the others went back downstairs to plan what to do now.

"That Eroz punk... He thinks he's so good!" Gallows slammed his fist on the table.

"Unfortunately, he is that good." Clive turned to face Gallows. "I'm certain that he could've easily killed everyone out there. Let's just be happy that everyone's alive."

Virginia hadn't said much, still worried out of her brains for Jet.

"The punk'll be fine." Gallows said. "It's takes more than a few kicks to kill that guy, and I should know." Gallows gave her a friendly smile hoping to make her feel better.

"Yeah... You're right!" She suddenly became a lot more cheerful, letting Clive and Gallows relax. "Well, let's eat! I'm starving! We won't be able to fight very well on an empty stomach!"

The others agreed and they had dinner.

* * *

**10:30 P.M – Jet**

"Hahahaha!!!" laughter echoed out everywhere. Jet was running in the dark, with nowhere to go.

"_Save me Jet!" He heard Virginia's voice, and ran faster._

"_Virginia!" He tried to find her, but instead ran into a man carrying a sword twice his size._

"_You can't win!" Then he raised his blade and chopped Jet in half._

"No!" Jet got up fast, sweat covering his body. He realized where he was, and then realized that Virginia had fallen asleep by his bed. She slowly came to at the sound of Jet's voice. She smiled weakly.

"Hey there."

"Hey."

"How do you feel?"

"Like shit."

Virginia just smiled and sat on his bed.

"Clive said you'll need to rest if you want those bones to heal, but it shouldn't take as long as it would for a normal person because of your nanomachines."

Jet just lay down again and closed his eyes.

"Jet... On that stage, when you made up lines... It was beautiful." Jet opened his eyes in a hurry and went really red.

"I... I just said whatever..." He mumbled, unsure of how to cover it up. Virginia giggled and lay down next to him.

"When Eroz grabbed you... I was so scared that I'd... You..." Tears welled up in her eyes. Jet looked at her shocked. Then put his arm on her shoulder.

"Virginia..." He started. "I'll never leave your side..." He said that unconsciously, and went red when he found out he actually said that. Virginia looked into his eyes.

"Jet..." She began to edge closer to him. Jet's body automatically started edging to her too.

"Oh... Jet..." She closed her eyes.

"Virginia..." He felt her breath on his face.

"Hey guys what's ha..pen..nin..g?" Gallows had burst into the door to see Jet and Virginia in bed together. "Wowza! Even when the punk's falling apart, he can still swing it! I salute you!" Gallows gave an army salute to Jet. Virginia then picked up the chair and chucked it at Gallows, sending him flying down the hallway, then down the stairs.

"IDIOT!" Virginia and Jet yelled at the same time. Clive then walked in with a very serious look.

"I found out about Eroz and the Fallen..." His voice was very serious. Jet and Virginia looked at him, eager to hear what he'd say. "I think it would be best to discuss this tomorrow, when Jet gets better. It's going to be hard on all of us, so we'd best wait." They decided not to argue, and Clive walked out. "I'm going to bed. I advise you two to do the same. You guys can have this room. Gallows is sleeping in the lounge." He left them then and headed for his room.

"That sounded bad." Jet said plainly. He let out a loud yawn. "I'm going to bed." He looked at Virginia, who was still on his bed, then remembered they're not only sharing the room, but there was only one bed. Jet couldn't get off because of his injury, but he didn't want her to sleep on the floor. Jet sighed.

"If you tell anyone, I'll kill you." Jet turned away from her and tried to sleep. Virginia just smiled sweetly and hugged Jet like she had last night.

Soon they drifted off to sleep.

END DAY 2

* * *

**Author's Note: **Man this chapter took AGES to write, it's more than twice the size of my last two! Oh well, I'll get onto the next chapter as soon as I can!NEXT TIME!

Jet and company find out more about Eroz and The Fallen! What could be so bad that Clive decided not to tell them while Jet was injured? The gang then head for Gallows' hometown to see if they can find a way to gain more power from the Guardians!


	4. Twister and Nudity

**Disclaimer:** "Virginia... There's something I have to tell you before I go..." "Don't die Jet!" "I'm doomed... But Virginia... I... I..." "Yes?" "I... don't own Wild ARMs! Ugh...(dead)" "NooOOoOo!" "(alive again) Oh yeah, and I don't own 'No one Else Comes Close' by Joe either. Ugh! (dead)" "...NooOOooOo!"

DAY 3 - Twister and Nudity

* * *

**8:30 A.M – Clive's House**

Everyone had finally awoken that morning, and as suspected Jet was already better. They gathered at the table for breakfast, as well as Clive's newfound information.

"Well, let's hear it." Virginia said. Clive took a sip of his coffee.

"First of all, we'll begin with The Fallen. Apparently it was the name of the strongest portion of the Demon army, a special ops team, so to speak. They were the ones that fought the Guardians themselves in the Guardian War long ago. Whether or not The Fallen of today are one and the same is yet to be found, but so far, it looks as though they are indeed the same group from centuries ago. Which brings me to my information on Eroz." He took a breath and continued. "As Jet no doubt noticed from their battle, he is in fact an android, similar to Jet, but much more powerful. Where Jet has been built for Filgaia's restoration, Eroz was designed for combating the Guardians." He showed them a picture from one of his textbooks. "This is a depiction of the Guardian War, when the Guardians fought with The Fallen. If you look over here," he pointed at a man with long hair holding a familiar large sword. "You will see the man that we saw earlier, named Eroz." Jet looked closely at the picture.

"His hair's a little longer, but that's him." Jet thought for a moment. "How many people are in this... Fallen group?"

"It says in my notes that originally they consisted of twelve warriors, one to combat each Guardian. Obviously all were immensely strong, but the Guardians somehow managed to defeat them, but down to the point that they lost all their powers. I'm guessing that's when they were sealed in mediums (It didn't really happen that way in the game though, take note). Eroz is most likely one of the twelve, and they probably have an army up by now."

"Well, it's great we have all this info and all... But what are we gonna do about it?" Gallows asked. Clive gave him a smug look.

"I thought we could visit your grandmother and receive some advice on releasing more power from the Guardians, there may be some way to strengthen the summoning strength that we don't know about. It's probably the best place to start." Gallows' jaw dropped.

"Man no way am I visiting my grandma, she freaks the bejeezus outta me." Gallows shivered in fear.

"You're such a wuss." Jet rolled his eyes at him. "I fought him, and I know for sure that we need all the help we can get, the Guardians especially."

"I agree. I'm sure Halle will know what to do." Virginia gave an affirming nod.

"Come on guys!" Gallows tried to change their mind, but they weren't listening.

"So we're going to the Baskar Colony!" Clive stated

"Hey gu-"

"Let's do it!" Virginia got up.

"But I think-"

"Yeah, whatever, let's move."

"Hey guuuyss!!!" Gallows hated being ignored, but the gang had already gone out the door.

"Move it or lose it, Bigfoot." Jet called. Gallows followed, grumbling and crying under his breath.

* * *

**9:00 A.M – Baskar Colony**

After a quick ride on Lombardia, they had arrived at the Baskar Colony. Gallows was happy seeing his home, but still freaked about seeing his grandmother. Clive pushed a reluctant Gallows forward, and they headed for Gallows' house.

Upon entering Gallows' home, they were greeted by his little brother, Shane.

"Long time no see big brother!" Shane smiled and waved at the gang. "What brings you all here?"

"We need to see Granny little bro!" He peered around the house cautiously. "She in here?"

"She's at the shrine. Why, is something the matter?" Shane asked curiously.

"Just need to discuss some things about the Guardians, is all." Gallows and the gang headed back out. They entered the shrine to find grandma Halle praying. She heard them enter, and turned around. Gallows was relieved to see her happy and he relaxed.

"Ahh hello children!" She smiled. Then lifted up her stick.

BAM.

"Ow! What was that for?" Gallows' forehead started developing a lump.

"You ingrate! What kind of grandson doesn't visit his loving grandmother? I bet I could drop dead here and you probably wouldn't notice, would you?" Halle snapped at Gallows, causing Jet to smirk.

"Ow... My head..."

BAM.

"PAY ATTENTION FOOL!" Halle smacked him again. Jet's smirk turned into a chuckle.

"Well, what brings you all here?" Halle had reverted to her good-natured self.

"We would like to know more about the Guardians and the Guardian War." Clive responded, then filled her in on their encounters with The Fallen.

"This is indeed bad. I have heard quite a bit about The Fallen, and none of it is good." Halle was uncharacteristically serious. Clive then asked about the mediums.

"Is there any way to release more power out of the mediums? We already know about summoning the Guardians themselves, but from what we've seen from only one member of The Fallen, I think we'll need more firepower." Clive waited for an answer. Halle sighed.

"Well... There may be one way..." Halle seemed reluctant to tell them.

"We'll try anything." Virginia spoke up. She was determined not to be as defenseless as she was before. Halle sighed once again.

"Okay, you asked for it..." Halle began. "The mediums were created at a sacred forge a long time ago. The forge itself was created at the base of a volcano. The souls of the Guardians were sealed there."

"How does this help us?" Gallows asked impatiently.

BAM.

"Shut up moron! I'm getting to it!" Gallows started bleeding, as well as having three big lumps on his head. "As I was saying, the Guardians were sealed here, as there was no other forge with a heat strong enough to create or destroy their mediums."

"I see what you're getting at." Clive said. "You want us to destroy the mediums?"

"Not quite. If the mediums were to be remolded into diamonds, they could be effectively stronger with the use of a special piece of technology created by the Guardians themselves. The technology they used to defeat The Fallen many years ago."

"Guardian technology? Incredible..." Clive was obviously enjoyed receiving new knowledge, practically jumping with joy.

"Anyway, all we have to do is get to that forge and remold the mediums, and find this Guardian technology thing, right?" Jet was getting impatient, and wanted to settle this already.

"Ah, that is exactly the problem with doing this." Halle said with a hesitant grin. "You see... The forge has recently been converted into a special hot spring..."

"Well that couldn't be too bad." Virginia said confused.

"You see, the special thing about it is... It's a nudist colony hot spring." Everyone's jaw dropped. Clive was the first to snap out of it.

"Um... Well... I guess we have no choice but to get in there and do it." The others stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"If you're so eager, why don't you do it?" Jet said, desperate to get out of it.

"Calm down, all of you!" Virginia scolded them. "I'm sure we can find a way to do this without any needless embarrassment." She blushed at the thought of being in a nudist colony with the guys. _'Eww.'_

"Actually, I was about to get to that." Halle walked up to them. "You see, this certain technology was put into a special dungeon created by Raftina, known as the Intertwining Hearts. It was made specifically to ensure only certain people could enter." She turned to Jet and Virginia. "I think you two should head for that. Something tells me that you two will be able to get it."

"Sure!" Virginia said, glad to get out of going to the nudist colony. Jet just shrugged. Halle then turned to the remaining two, who were looking very distressed.

"That leaves you two to go the Forge and turn the mediums into diamonds."

"B-But Granny!!!"  
  
BAM.

"Stop whining, pussy-face, it's not like you have anything to hide! And Clive, I'd like you to go to keep Gallows in line." Clive gave in and sadly nodded.

Gallows' head had begun to look abnormal with all the lumps. "This sucks..."

"So, where is this Intertwining Hearts place?" Jet asked.

Halle smiled and headed for one of the walls, then pushed a hidden switch. The wall slid away and the cavern downstairs opened up.

"The Baskar Colony was built on top of it for protection." Halle explained. She went over to them and took their mediums. "Now you two run along, and be sure to find the Guardian Technology."

"Good luck guys!" Virginia waved to her other two teammates, who were looking glum. Jet just smirked and followed Virginia down the stairs.

"Well now, you two." She handed Clive the mediums. "I believe you have a colony to get naked in?" She laughed at them as they sat on the ground moping.

* * *

**9:15 A.M – Intertwining Hearts**

Jet and Virginia had expected the dungeon to be as dank and dull as they had always been, smelling of dead animals and fart. This dungeon was nothing like that. The walls were brightly colored, and there were plenty of lights. It also had a fresh lavender scent to it.

"Well... This is different." Jet looked around confused as to why a dungeon would be presently so cutely.

"She did say it was designed by Raftina." She giggled. "I guess they weren't kidding.

"I think I prefer my dungeons dark and dangerous. At least I know what to expect." Jet felt nauseous with the bright and bubbly atmosphere of the place. "Let's just find this thing and get outta here." They stepped into the next room to find a puzzle resembling something like...

"A karaoke club???" Virginia and Jet said at the same time. The room had a circular stage in the middle, with speakers and a subwoofer surrounding the stage. A microphone was in the middle, as well as a guitar and a pair of maracas. A large computer screen was in front of it, resembling the computers they had seem in the Leyline Lab. They saw a sign near the exit.

"To pass this room, you must play a duet as beautiful as Raftina herself." Jet eyes narrowed.

"Raftina sure is big-headed for a Guardian" Jet sighed in disbelief.

"Come on, I think this'll be fun!" She pulled Jet along with her onto the stage.

"Oh God, I hope the others guys are doing worse."

* * *

**9:19 A.M – Fiery Passions Nudist Colony**

"Man, is it just me, or do we always get it bad?" Gallows said to his equally depressed companion. They stared up at the sign, 'Fiery Passions – Release your inner love!' "Man this isn't fair."

"Never mind Gallows." Clive tried to be more positive, but he didn't look the part. "We have to do this." They trudged inside and up to the counter.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" the naked counter man smiled. Clive and Gallows shuddered, trying to ignore the fact that he was naked.

"Yeah, we'd like to enter. How much is it?" Gallows asked, staring at the ceiling.

"Well, the normal price is 500,000 gella per person, and for couples, it's 15,000 gella."

Clive and Gallows looked at each other, then shrugged. Gallows put an arm around Clive.

"Me and Honey-Buns here would like to take your couple offer please!" Gallows said with a smile.

"Yes, we plan to release our inner love here!" Clive said, putting his arms around Gallows' waist.

"Ah... Okay... T-That'll be 15,000 gella." The man's face was twitching as he took their money. "Y-You'll need to undress in the changing room before entry." He pointed at the room.

"Of course, of course! Thank you sweetie!" Gallows blew him a kiss.

"You know I don't like you doing that!" Clive playfully slapped him on the arm.

"Haha, oh you!" Gallows pouted and waved the air in front of his face, before they finally left for the changing.

"God, I'm not a man anymore!" Gallows and Clive both said, crying.

* * *

**9:19 A.M – The Karaoke Puzzle**

"I don't wanna do this." Jet said childishly. Virginia was already strapping the guitar around Jet.

"Jet, we have to! Please?" She tried to look at him as cute as she could. Jet blushed and looked away.

"Argh, fine, yeah, whatever." He never could win against Virginia, and it sucked.

"Alright! Let's pick a good song!" Virginia began scrolling through all the songs. "Okay, if it has to be as beautiful as Raftina, then we should sing a love song!" Jet had long given up fighting her and just sighed. "This looks like a good one! Let's do it! It says here the guy has to sing this one, and I just play the maracas!"

"Yeah, whatever." He looked at the screen, and started playing the guitar as it showed him on the screen. Then he began to sing.

When we turn out the lights  
The two of us alone together  
Something's just not right  
But girl you know that I would never ever let another's touch  
Come between the two of us  
Cause no one else will ever take your place  
  
Chorus:  
No one else comes close to you  
No one makes me feel the way you do  
You're so special girl, to me  
And you'll always be, eternally  
Everytime I hold you near  
You always say the words I love to hear  
Girl with just a touch, you can do so much  
  
No one else comes close  
  
And when I wake up to  
The touch of your head on my shoulder  
You're my dream come true  
Oh, girl you know I'll always treasure  
Every kiss, every day  
I love you girl in every way  
And I always will cause in my eyes  
  
Chorus (2x)  
  
No one else comes close  
No one else comes close  
  
Damn I love you

By the end of the song, Jet's face was deep red. Virginia squealed with delight.

"Jet, you never told me you had such an amazing singing voice!" She had been enchanted by Jet's melancholy voice. "You're also really good with a guitar! You were great!" Jet just blushed even more.

"Whatever... The door's open. Let's go" Jet marched off into the next room, Virginia hanging onto his arm.

The next room had a floor with a five by four grid of circles, each row a different color – red, green, yellow, and blue. Nearby was a small spinner, showing all the colors and a body part. They read the next sign.

"To open the door, you must play this game by pressing the correct color with the correct hand or foot. Stay up for 15 spins. Both of you must do it at the same time!" Jet looked at the floor panel, then the spinner.

"Oh God, this can't be good..." Jet said. (Twister, anyone? D)

* * *

**9:40 A.M – In the Nudist Colony**

Clive and Gallows had reluctantly stepped out of the changing room, clutching their precious jewelry in embarrassment.

"Man this is so totally stuffed up." Gallows said, his face pink.

"Let's just find the forge and get out here." He saw another nudist walking by. "Erm... Excuse me sir."

"Hi! Haven't seen you around! Name's Bob! Nice to meet you!" He held out his hand for one of them to shake, but neither Gallows nor Clive showed sign of moving their hands. Gallows managed to end the stand by awkwardly tapping him on the leg with his foot. Bob just shrugged and let it go. "So, what can I do for you two?"

"We'd like to know how to reach the base of the volcano from here." Clive asked, in a hurry to move on.

"Oh, that's simple! Just head down that corridor, take a left at the toilet, then go straight until you see the sign. Then you turn right, and go..." His instructions went on for quite some time. "... And that's where the base is! Simple, no?" Clive's eyebrow was twitching. Gallows gave him a kick to the shin, and Clive shook his head and returned to normal.

"Uh... Yes... Thank you for that." Clive tried to remember everything he said and waddled off (It couldn't be easy to walk and hide it at the same time).

"Man, why can't anything work out for us?" Gallows groaned, as they got lost again. "Please, just one good thing, and I swear I'll stop complaining."

"Hey there sweetie! Need help?" Gallows smiled and silently mouthed 'thank you', then turned to see where the feminine voice came from, only to be thrown back in fear. "Are you okay cutie?" 'She' giggled at Gallows. Clive was close to puking at the sight of her.

The 'woman' had warts all over face and body. Facial hair was growing under her nose, and her body was freckly and wrinkled. It was truly a disturbing sight. Gallows was scared out of his brains.

"OH GOD!" He yelped. He grabbed his eyes. "IT BURNS OH GOD IT BURNS!" Clive was clutching his mouth and bending over.

"Haha, you guys are such jokers!" She playfully slid a finger on Gallows' arm, causing him to freeze up before twitching uncontrollably. "You're a real looker, you know that?"

"Someone kill me now..." Gallows looked up at the sky with tears in his eyes.

Clive swallowed hard then whispered into Gallows' ear. "Get her to lead us to the volcano base!"

Gallows threw a freaked out glance at Clive. "Are you out of your freaking mind? That thing is a walking disease!"

"I know what you mean, but we're lost, and the sooner we do this, the better. Just use your Gallows charm!" Gallows whimpered, then sadly gave in.

"Hey... Ugh... 'Beautiful'... How about leading my friend and I here to the volcano base?" Gallows found it harder to act like she was hot than acting as though he was a homosexual.

"Hehe... Hmm, you are quite handsome... But I'll need a little more motivation!" She leant forward and closed her eyes. Gallows drew back, his face shriveling up as if he ate something sour.

"Do it!" Clive whispered, sniggering slightly.

Gallows gave another whimper, before closing his eyes and moving forward. As soon as his lips reached hers, she had grabbed him and pulled him in for a long, wet kiss.

Clive couldn't take it anymore and puked all over the floor.

When she finally let him go, Gallows fell to the floor, limbs in the air, twitching.

"That was great handsome! Now I'll take you to the volcano base! Follow me!" She started walking, so Clive quickly ran over to Gallows, and hauled him with him by kicking him along, not wanting to remove his hands.

"It burns... It burns..." Gallows muttered, still twitching. (My God, that was visually disturbing puke)

* * *

**9:40 A.M – The Twister Puzzle**

It took Jet and Virginia awhile to get the idea of the rules, which had conveniently been written down and left in the room. After getting the gist of the game, they gave it a shot.

"Okay, so now we gotta spin that dial thing right?" Jet asked. "And then we put whatever limb it shows onto the color?"

"Yeah that's it! Let's do it!" Virginia said, then spinned the dial. "Left hand, green!"

The first six turns went smoothly, they managed to reach the colors without the need of invading each other's space. Then trouble began.

"Left foot, red!" Jet yelled after spinning the dial. Virginia accomplished this easily, as she was already on the red side. Jet unfortunately would need to go underneath her to reach it. Jet went as red as the spot and slowly edged his foot over. "S-Sorry..." He said embarrassingly, feeling his back brush against her thighs.

"I'It's okay..." Virginia said with a blush. "Spin the dial."

Jet spun it again. "Right hand, blue!"

This time, it was simple for Jet to reach, but Virginia was going to have to reach around Jet's neck to reach it.

"S-Sorry." Virginia said this time.

"Y-Yeah, whatever." He could feel her hair falling around his face. 'Smells nice...' Jet snapped out of it and spun the dial again. "Right leg, green!" This was fairly simple for both of them and they moved onto the tenth spin.

"Left hand, yellow!" Virginia yelled. Jet crossed his arms over and made it with ease. Virginia almost fell, but Jet caught her with his body.

"Hurry! Get back up!" He felt her figure on his back, making him feel hot inside.

"Thanks Jet!" She said, as she spun the dial again. "Right leg, red!" They stood still for a moment to work out how to pull it off. Their right feet were on green, all the way on the other end of the mat from red. "What do we do now Jet?"

Jet thought for a minute, and had an idea. It was risky, but nothing else came to mind. "Sit tight, I've got a plan." Jet started to release his accelerator. "Here we go!"

With some quick and near impossible maneuver, Jet managed to turn both Virginia and himself around so that they were facing up, and moved their legs onto red. But now they were in a fairly awkward position. Their right hands and feet were on red, and left hand and foot were on blue. This made their arms and legs wrap around each other, causing them both to blush fairly hard.

"You okay?" He asked Virginia, his voice slightly muffled from Virginia's hair getting in his mouth.

"Yeah..." Virginia managed, but she wasn't going to be able to hold this position for long. Jet managed to spin the dial again.

"Right hand, red!" Thankfully, it was already there, and from what the rules said (in here anyway) it still counted as a spin. They sighed with relief and made the third last spin. "Right leg, yellow!" They tried to find a way to move their leg and still keep their hand on red.

"I know!" Virginia said. "We'll need to do this at the same time!" Jet nodded and she explained her plan.

They lifted their right feet, then twisted right, going all the way around to reach yellow, crossing their arms over again. Now Virginia was once again underneath Jet. They sighed with relief after their success. Virginia reached out and spun it again.

"Left hand, red!" Virginia uncrossed her arms and put her left hand on the red. Jet put his arm around Virginia's neck to reach it as well. She spun it for the final time.

"Right hand, yellow!" Virginia reached it with ease, then Jet reached in from under her arm, accidentally bumping something on the way. "Ack!" She flinched, almost falling, but Jet managed to catch her.

"S-Sorry." Jet said ashamed.

"It's okay. It was only an accident. Not let's finish this!" Thankfully she wasn't too angry. Jet nodded and reached for the yellow. As soon as his hand landed, a chime rang out to confirm that they had passed the puzzle. They dropped to the floor in exhaustion.

"Finally, it's over." They sighed, both too tired to remember Jet was on top of her. They lay there catching their breath for a moment, then realized their position, and hurriedly stood up and moved onto the next room.

* * *

**9:58 A.M – The Volcano Base**

"See you round, honey!" The old hag blew a kiss at Gallows, making him flinch. She then went back down to the resort.

"Finally, she's gone." Said Gallows in relief. "I hope I never have to see her again!"

They walked into the base to find a large cavern built within the volcano, with a forge in the middle, along with a lake of lava.

"Grab that diamond base and let's get to it." Clive said, grabbing a work coat and putting it on before throwing Gallows another one. "We're going to need our hands for this."

One by one, they remolded the mediums into new diamonds, the symbols still surprisingly clear on them. After finishing the molding, they took them outside and waited for them to set.

"It should take around ten or so minutes to set completely, so we'll just waste time until then." Clive said. "Any ideas?"

"Okay let's play this game. I'll say the name of a food, and you gotta say another food beginning with the last letter. Ready? Pie!"

"Eggnog."

"Um... Grilled beef!"

"Fish fillet."

"Um... Uh... Crap!"

Clive sighed and decided to busy himself with something more challenging, like watching ants. Gallows just kept trying to find a food starting with T.

* * *

**10:01 A.M – The Final Room**

The last room had a chest in the center of the room. The rest of the room was empty, giving the two a sense of déjà vu.

"This time, you stay here, and I'll open it." Jet warned, cautiously approaching the chest. Virginia watched him intently. He reached the chest and opened it, to find a glove somewhat similar to the one he wore on his right hand. He shrugged and grabbed it, then waited for something to happen.

CRACK.

He looked down and noticed that he wasn't going down, instead up. Or rather, he wasn't moving, but everything AROUND the chest was sinking. He whipped around to see Virginia sinking along with it.

"How ironic." He rolled his eyes and dashed over to grab her again, then ran back out to the exit.

He got out just as the place began to cave in, protecting Virginia with his body to shield her from any debris. When the crumbling stopped, he got up and pulled Virginia to her feet.

"You okay?" He asked, dusting himself off.

"I'm fine. Thanks again Jet! Looks like you saved me yet again!" Virginia smiled, just as Halle came walking over to them.

"Excellent, you found it!" Halle congratulated them.

"What is it?" Virginia asked.

"I'll explain how this all works soon. For now, you two should rest." She led them to her house and served them some food, before they went off to bed.

* * *

**10:10 A.M** **– The Nudist Colony**

"Well, let's go." Clive had packed the new diamond mediums into a satchel. They headed back to the entrance eager to get their clothes on, they were starting to feel a little chilly.

"Are you already ending your stay here?" The clerk asked them.

"Oh yes! We decided we need a little more alone time!" Gallows got back into homo-mode.

"Shall we go darling? I can't wait any more!" Clive said before grabbing a rose into his mouth and reaching his hand out to Gallows. "Shall we dance???"

"Yes!" Gallows took his hand, and they proceeded to tango out the exit, while humming tango music.

"That's a nice couple..." The clerk stated, before getting back to work.

* * *

**10:16 A.M – Baskar Colony**

"We're back." Gallows said weakly, followed by an equally tired Clive, who dumped the bad onto the table.

"Good work you two. Have some food, and rest. I'll explain everything this afternoon." She gathered the diamond mediums and gave them some food. "You two go to sleep when you finish eating."

Too tired to answer properly, they just grunted, ate, then went to bed.

END DAY 3 – MIDDAY

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Ack. It's past midnight here, and I'm pooped. But hey, I decided I shouldn't leave everyone thinking I was going to stay as serious as I was last chapter! I'm still going to put plenty of kooky situations; just it's going to follow a real storyline. The reviews are helping me a lot, so thanks again!

**NEXT TIME!**

The gang learns the secret to unleashing the true power of the Guardians! But when they find out the price to pay for it, will they continue to use it? And why does the Guardian Technology resemble Jet's glove so much? GASP! It's so exciting!


	5. Dirty Dancing

Author's Notes: This took a little longer to finish than I expected, and when I did, my net broke off and I had to do all kinds of crap to fix it! Grr! That sucks! But now it's back on, and I can move on with this!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Wild ARMs 3, or James Bond, but I do however own Wild ARMs: Battle Attack! Well, sort of anyway... Please don't sue. I'm poor and I have to eat!  
  
DAY 3 – Dirty Dancing

* * *

**2:30 A.M – Gallows' House**

"Jet! Save me!" Virginia yelled, hanging off a cliff, seconds away from losing grip and having to let to.

"_I'm coming!" Jet dashed over as fast as he could. Just as she let go and was about to fall to her doom, Jet grabbed her hand. He hauled her up and she fell on top of him._

"_You're my hero, Jet!" Virginia pulled him into a tight embrace. Then Jet began to notice something._

"_God, Virginia, you weigh like three guys, you're crushing me!" Jet began struggling for air._

Virginia couldn't hear him, and continued to hug tighter.

"AR-mmffmfff..." Jet woke up, and tried to scream, only to take in a lump of flubber into his mouth. Gallows' flubber. His stomach was on top of his head. He also noticed pressure on his abdomen and legs, and judging from the weight difference, they were respectively Virginia and Clive. It seemed they all were too tired after their little escapades to realize they had all climbed into the same bed.

"Mfgrhee (what the hell)?" Jet tried to move him off, but he was fast asleep. He tried to kick him off with legs, but Clive was too heavy, and Virginia would get in the way too. He relaxed for a moment to think of a way off.

"MRHRR (got it)!" Jet said before grinning evilly, well, as evil as possible with Gallows' beer gut in his mouth. Jet took a deep breath, and a mouthful of flab, then bit down. Hard.

"OWWWWWWW!" Gallows woke with a bloodcurdling yell, then fell to the floor clutching his stomach.

"Good morning to you too, Pork Chop." Jet gasped for air. Virginia and Clive had awoken from Gallows' scream.

"Did something happen?" Clive asked with sleepy eyes. He was so exhausted that he still had all his clothes on, which Jet was thankful for. He looked down on the floor to see Gallows rolling around in agony, then just sighed and went back to lying down on Jet's legs. Virginia didn't even get up when she awoke, instead clutching tightly onto Jet. She was only wearing her nightgown, causing Jet's eyes to wander over her. He blushed and tried to keep his eyes on her face.

"Hey Jet!" She said playfully. Her eyes were closed and she was cuddling Jet's torso like a stuffed toy, too exhausted to get up.

"Hey..." He said, too embarrassed to watch her hug him. He made to sit up, hoping she'd let go, but she didn't. As Jet sat up on the bed, she continued to clutch him. It looked like the poster of a clichéd action film. (You know those movies that had that guy standing there all macho, and with a semi-naked woman hugging his leg and looking up at him? Something like that)

Clive finally got off of Jet's legs and stood up, yawning and scratching himself. "Well, I see that we were all so tired that we slept on the same bed. Care to tell us what you guys went through?" Clive chuckled like a serial killer.

I'll make you a deal. You don't wanna know what happened to us, and I sure as hell don't wanna know what happened to you." Jet said, putting his hand to his head to massage it.

Clive thought for a moment, then said "Deal." He didn't want to relive the insane morning he had, even if he was only saying what happened. He never wanted to hear about it again. "Come on, we'd best find out what Halle wants us to do with the new mediums."

Jet nodded and made to get up, but Virginia was still clinging onto him and she had fallen asleep again. He tried to remove her arms, but she apparently had a massive death-grip while she slept. Jet groaned, picked her up, and awkwardly cradled her in his arms, with her still grabbing him like a flytrap. Clive looked at him with an evil grin.

"I see we're having another on of picture moments." He said while walking out the door, dragging Gallows' agonized corpse behind him.

"Just shut up and walk, idiot." Jet said, following close behind.

* * *

**2:45 P.M – The Shrine**

"You're finally all up." Halle didn't even have to turn around to notice them. In front of her were the diamond mediums and the Guardian Technology. "Now everyone sit down, and I'll explain what happened in the Guardian War."

Everyone sat down, and turned their attention to Halle, except Gallows, who was still in considerable pain, and he found a bite mark on him. Ouch.

"This glove here," She picked up the glove, "is known as Lance of Animation. The Guardians wore it in order to focus their energy in a focused beam, a bullet. It works by sapping the Guardians' life energy, then releasing it in a single ball of power, much like an arm, except the bullets come from you yourself." She picked up one of the diamond mediums. "Eventually, the Guardians began to lose energy from the overtaxing effect of using the Lance, and had to store their energy into mediums. However, the Lance had been built so that it could take in a Guardian's power through a diamond, but the Guardians specifically said not to create the diamonds unless necessary due to the effect it would take on the user."

"The effect on the user?" Clive asked inquiringly.

Halle sighed and continued. "A Guardian has the life energy to create at least one million men, one million of you. By using the Lance, they had very little effect until a year of usage, which was when they finally defeated The Fallen and transferred their energy to mediums." She looked to see if they got her drift. Apparently they didn't. She rolled her eyes. "The Lance needs to use energy from the wielder itself, LOTS of energy." She lifted the glove. "This thing is a double-edged sword. In order to beat your enemies, it will slowly kill you. This is why I never wanted to tell you about this, but considering what we are now up against, we have no choice. But that isn't the worst part of this." The gang looked on intently. "This weapon... It takes up the life energy of a single human to fire one shot. If a normal man were to use this, they would die on the spot." Everyone gasped in despair.

"If it kills us from just one shot, what good is it to us?" Clive asked in disbelief.

"I don't want any of us to die using that thing!" Virginia joined in.

Jet just shrugged, and Gallows was still tending his wound. Baby.

"Calm down, you're all forgetting one thing." They looked back to her again. "One of you is not a normal human." She turned her attention to Jet, followed by the eyes of everyone else.

"What?" Jet looked around.

"Jet Enduro, from this day forward, the Lance of Animation is rightfully yours."

"WHAT?" Jet jumped up. "Whaddaya mean, rightfully mine?"

"Filgaia is facing a threat that almost killed the Guardians themselves. They aren't here to protect the planet anymore, and there is no one else capable of wielding the Lance. You are the only one." Halle said mystically. Jet just looked in awe.

"But you said this would kill me!"

"Not you, dear," Halle said. "You have a link to the greatest source of energy, Filgaia itself. It may not be the thriving land of life it once was, but it still has as much energy as a Guardian." Halle walked up to Jet and handed him the glove. "I ask you, on behalf of the people of Filgaia. Will you save us?"

Jet was still shocked about this. "What if I fail? What if I can't do it?"

"I know you can do it, you're the only one." Halle said matter-of-factly.

"I've known you for a long time now, Jet, and I know that deep inside you is a strong, reliable young man." Clive encouraged.

"Much as I hate to say it, punk." Gallows started. "I don't think I'd trust any other punk more than you to do this."

Jet was about to decline still, but Virginia spoke up.

"Jet... I believe in you. I know you can do it. But I don't want you to do it if you don't want to... Just do what your heart tells you to." Virginia looked into Jet's eyes, and Jet felt as though she were looking right into his heart.

"My heart, huh..." Jet whispered, then closed his eyes and thought.

'_You don't have to do it, it's got nothing to do with you, right?' _He looked at Virginia. _'She believes in me though... Dammit...'_

Jet said something very quietly. "...do it."

"What?" Everyone asked leaning in closer.

"I said I'll do it already!" He yelled as he grabbed the Lance. Jet looked angry for some reason, probably trying to hide the fact that he wanted to. Virginia saw straight through him.

"I knew you'd say yes!" She gave him a pat on the back.

Halle motioned for their attention. "Now that that's settled, it's time to show you how to use the Lance. Let's step outside, things could get destructive."

* * *

**3:25 P.M – Outside the Baskar Colony**

Everyone stood in the wasteland, waiting to hear what Halle had to say.

"Jet, there's something you should know about the glove you wear on your hand." She pointed to Jet's right hand with her stick. "This glove is also a piece of Guardian Technology."

"What?" Everyone said in amazement.

"It isn't like the Lance though, it wasn't made for destructive purposes. It's a restraint. It prevents the body from releasing more than a set amount of life energy at a time. In other words, it's a limiter." Halle reached out for the glove. "Now, I'm going to pull this off, and when I do, I want you to concentrate on any differences you feel in your body." Jet nodded. "Ready?" She pulled off the glove, and Jet suddenly went a little pale, slowly he began twitching, and knelt on the ground. Virginia was about to help him, but Halle kept her back.

"W-What the hell?" Jet didn't take the glove off often, only when he was taking a bath or going to sleep. Now that he was concentrating more, he did notice it. There was a large gush of energy in him.

"What you are feeling right now is the full flow of your life energy. It may take awhile to get used to, but it will make firing the Lance easier." She then took the Lance and handed it to him. "Put it on while you can still feel the energy."

Jet painfully stood up again and took the glove from Halle. After slipping it on, he felt a new sensation – energy flowing from his hand to the glove. The Lance began to glow blue with energy.

"Concentrate! If you just let all the energy flow into it like that, not only would you kill yourself, but no doubt the energy from the attack could destroy Filgaia!" Jet closed his eyes and tried to concentrate more. Slowly, he got the hang of it, and Halle sighed in relief. "Now try taking the energy back from the Lance into your body." Jet concentrated on flowing the energy back, and slowly the glove's glow died down.

"That's amazing!" Clive's eyes were wide with astonishment. "I can't believe we have a weapon used by the Guardians! This is excellent!"

Halle handed Jet one of the medium diamonds. "This is how you insert the mediums into the Lance." She proceeded to open up a flap, just on top of his hand. "You must always remember to put a medium inside when you are about to use the Lance! The medium also serves to lessen the strain by giving part of the energy from the shot, but it still takes enough out of a human being to kill them." Jet powered down and removed the glove, breathing heavily to regain strength.

Jet examined his new glove, the Lance of Animation. It looked near identical to his original one. "If Guardians made these things, how did I end up with my one?"

"I'm afraid I don't know. Guardian Technology is near non-existent, but there may be other ruins that hid them, just like the Intertwining Hearts. Anyway, that's the end of the lesson, we won't fire it because it'll be a waste of energy. Oh, by the way," Halle added. "The Lance is a non-lethal weapon when it comes to The Fallen, it only shuts them down in a way."

"Why doesn't it kill them?" Virginia asked.

Halle cackled like a witch. "You'll understand when you meet The Fallen." She motioned for them to return to the village. "Come, you will need to decide your next move, won't you?"

"That's a good question, what are we gonna do now?" Gallows asked the group.

"I guess... We should find Eroz." Clive said, as they all headed back.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm sure he'll pop out and try to kill us eventually anyway." Jet smugly commented.

* * *

**3:40 P.M – Gallows' House**

They still had no idea what to do. They had been thinking for quite a while, but had no idea where to find Eroz and The Fallen.

"This is boring." Jet said, leaning back on his chair staring at the ceiling. His legs were starting to cramp from so much sitting, so he got up and paced around the room.

"Well, I got nothin'." Gallows said with a sigh, starting to feel hungry from all that thinking.

"Since when have you had anything?" Jet copped a vase to the head for that.

"I guess we should look around for information. We're getting nowhere just sitting here all day." Virginia suggested. Clive looked up at her.

"You have a point. I guess we should just travel around to places he may be at." Clive stood up. "Well, the sooner we start, the better." Suddenly, Gallows' stomach erupted with a huge rumble. "... Er, I guess we should eat first." Clive laughed. At the sound of his stomach, everyone realized they were pretty hungry. So the gang agreed that after eating, they'd leave to search for information.

* * *

**4:00 P.M – The Unknown Location of The Fallen's Base**

"So, you want us to watch for this white-haired bloke, and fight him without holding back?" A man with spiky hair said. He spoke with an Australian accent "Mate, we fought the bloody Guardians yonks ago, and now you want us to take on a single human? That's bloody outrageous!" He was dressed in tight, leather pants and a jacket, similar to Jet's attire, but somewhat more rugged.

"Oh contraire, my friend. He isn't a human being. In fact, I felt the Aura of Zero. I found the Thirteenth!" He grinned with excitement. "The War of Redemption is finally coming! Just as He told us!"

"The Thirteenth? You actually found him?" The man had a deep, American accent, much like Eroz. He wore black entirely. Black pants, black shirt, and a black trench coat. He also wore black goggles, shielding his eyes entirely. "I can't believe you met him and didn't die instantly. Almost three millenia now since we last met." He sounded uninterested in the matter. His Aussie friend on the other hand, was grinning with anticipation.

"Crikey, we should tell the others, mate! They'll be roaring up the barbie with joy!" The Aussie ran off to call the others. The dark man shrugged and left afterwards.

"So, Zero, looks like we found your program... Hahahaha!" He laughed out, the walls echoing his voice throughout his lair. "Time to wake you from your sleep."

* * *

**4:30 P.M – Gambler's Heaven**

The drifters had arrived at a new location; the biggest city ever built, known as the Gambler's Heaven. Gunner's Heaven had decided to start a branch of new areas, and had scheduled to build plenty more 'Heavens' all around Filgaia. Everyone looked on in awe.

"This place is huge! I've never seen buildings so tall!" Virginia said, tilting her head up a lot just to see the top of the shortest building.

"I guess this would be a great place to start looking." Clive said, and led them into a nearby bar called 'The Rolling Dollar'.

The bar itself was amazing. Compared to the regular bars they were used to, this place was paradise. Bright lights shone throughout the large business, with a bar, enough tables for a restaurant, and a dance floor, where many guests dressed in fashionable suits were strutting their stuff. The Maxwell gang looked highly out of place in the futuristic atmosphere.

"Woohoo! This is my kinda town!" Gallows grinned broadly before taking a seat at the bar and ordering himself a beer. He received a very high-class mug of high-quality beer. He took a swig and melted with delight. "Great brew!"

The others sat with him, except Jet, who chose to stand.

"Gallows, keep in mind we came for information." Clive reminded their friend.

"And not here to watch you get drunk and strip." Jet whispered, rolling his eyes.

"Oh right. Hey barkeep!" Gallows called. When he arrived, a very posh man wiping a glass, Gallows spoke on. "We're looking for information on a group of guys called The Fallen. Any idea where we could start?" The bartender thought for a moment, then looked back at the crew.

"Well, I wouldn't know specifically where to get that info, but if you want to find out anything, try going to the Black Cards Casino, lot of important men gamble there. It's a very pricey casino, though, and you'll need to play to get attention from the head honchos. The best players in the hall usually meet with the suits in private game sessions."

"I guess it's a good start." Gallows said, then tossed him some Gella. "Thanks, man." The bartender bowed and continued his rounds. The group huddled together for a discussion.

"I think this could be it!" Gallows smiled. "If we get on the good side of the high men, we'll have a gold mine of information!"

"One problem though," Virginia said. "Who here actually knows how to gamble well?"

"Well, I used to play poker and craps during my lone riding." Jet said indifferently. "But I doubt they'll let me in. I don't look old enough."

"I'm know the theory of the gambling games, but I've never played a real game." Clive explained. "I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard though."

"Well, like Jet, I don't think they'd let me in either. Besides, gambling isn't my thing." Virginia commented.

"Ha! I should be able to do it!" Gallows said happily. "I used to play blackjack quite a bit with the villagers! I didn't exactly win a lot... But I do know how to play!" Everyone looked at him hopelessly.

"I guess that means the best candidate for this would be either Gallows or myself. We shouldn't send both of us, we don't have enough money for that." Virginia and Jet looked at Clive, then at Gallows, then back at Clive.

"Clive should go." They chimed together. Gallows fell down in defeat.

"Very well then. Let's secure some rooms first. I'll collect some more information here, so you three get the rooms and I'll arrive shortly." The others nodded and left to find a hotel.

* * *

**5:00 P.M – Blue Mermaid Hotel**

Virginia and company managed to find a hotel nearby and proceeded to book rooms. After a hefty discount through some negotiation from Jet (very forceful negotiations) they took their rooms and waited for Clive.

Jet was sitting in his room staring at the ceiling. The room was quite an eyeful, with beautiful furniture, beautiful bed, beautiful everything. Jet was, as usual, not overly interested.

"I'll take a walk." He said out loud to no one in particular. He stepped out and went into the lift. He examined the buttons to find somewhere to go. He saw a button labeled 'Social Room', and pushed it. The lifted started with a jolt and plummeted down.

PING.

The doors opened to reveal a large circular room, with the elevator in the middle. Games, dance floors, and other various past times littered the area. Jet stepped out and took a look around. Loud music raved, and many people were dancing. Jet looked on for awhile before getting bored and moving on to the games section.

'_What's this?' _He looked on to find a game called 'Wild ARMs: Battle Attack!" It was a fighting game involving ARMs. Jet found himself interested, so he sat down and inserted a coin. He selected a character he felt looked almost exactly like him, also wielding a similar sub-machine gun. He looked on to challenge his first opponent.

GAME! KET VS. SHALLOWS! READY? DRAW!

The fight began and Jet jammed on the shoot button, launching a barrage of lead into Shallows, who looked peculiarly like Gallows. Apparently he was also as stupid as Gallows, and took the full force of the barrage.

"Yes!" Jet punched the air in victory.

SHALLOWS IS KNOCKED OUT! KET WINS!

The next round was about to begin against someone called Glive, but then a challenger on the other end had joined the fray.

NEW CHALLENGER! GAME! JET VS. AYA! READY? DRAW!

Jet once again pounded on the shoot button, but Aya, who looked familiar, had managed to dodge them all, firing back with her handgun. Ket took a little damage, causing Jet to scowl in annoyance.

"I'll get you!" Jet said as he reloaded his ARM. He took cover behind a pillar, waiting for the reload to finish. Just as it did, Aya came out guns blazing. Ket's HP was chipped even more. Suddenly, Aya shouted 'I won't hold back now!' and pulled out a huge minigun. Ket ran and took cover behind a wall.

"Crap!" Jet tried to work out what to do, then saw a button labeled 'special'. He waited for the minigun to stop, then jumped out and pushed the special button.

'Let's do it!' Ket yelled. 'Gatling attack!' Ket used the move common with many drifters, emptying his clip like it was nothing. This time, every shot hit, and Aya was down for the count.

AYA IS KNOCKED OUT! KET WINS!

"All right!" Jet took a breath and relaxed again. He saw a shadow on the floor, his challenger had walked up to meet him. He looked up to be greeted by a familiar face.

"Long time no see!" Maya smirked.

* * *

**4:40 P.M – Virginia's Room**

Virginia had spent the majority of her time looking at herself in the mirror. She had been feeling more conscious recently about her appearance, no doubt something to do with Jet.

"If I don't do something, he might end up with someone like that perverted doctor!" Virginia pouted. "I have to get a new look!" She decided.

She had tried doing things like wearing new dresses, courtesy of the hotel. But none of them suited her very well, and most of them were very flimsy in design. She tried using make-up, but decided it was too much trouble to keep applying every day. Then she tried changing her hair.

"Hmm..." She removed her braid and her headband, then combed it straight. She took a look at herself with the plain straight look. After a bit of examination, she decided it just wasn't her, then found some curlers in the desk.

"Worth a shot..." She said, as she put them on. After awhile she pulled them off, leaving behind curls. She looked in the mirror to check. "Not bad." She commented. She then decided to keep it for awhile, at least until hearing Jet's opinion.

KNOCK KNOCK.

"Come in!" Virginia said. The door opened to reveal Clive. "I finished collecting information. How are you guys?"

"We're fine, we've just been sitting in our rooms waiting." She replied. Clive gave her a confused look.

"Really? I checked Jet's and Gallows' room, and Jet was missing." Clive told her. "He's probably gone for a walk or something, knowing him."

Virginia got up. "Probably, but we should go look for him, just in case." She got up and they headed out. "So, what about Gallows?"

"He's sleeping. Let's just head off without him, it's too difficult to wake him anyway." Virginia agreed and they went into the elevator. "I see you've changed your hair. It's nice." Clive complimented. Clive looked at the board and decided to check the games room first, being the most likely place Jet would go out of the locations on the panel.

"Thanks Clive! I thought I'd try something new." Virginia spun around to show him.

"I'm sure Jet will think it's nice also, even if he doesn't say so himself." Virginia went a little pink and giggled nervously.

PING.

The doors opened and they stepped out into the games room. After some aimless walking, they saw Jet standing next to someone at the games section.

"Long time no see!" They heard the girl say. As they walked closer, they noticed it was Maya.

"Maya? What are you doing here?" Virginia asked, secretly hoping nothing happened between Jet and her while she wasn't there. Maya apparently noticed.

"Relax, girl. I'm not here to steal your friend." Jet glanced at them confused. "The boys and I decided to stop by to see the new city, that's all. Didn't think I'd see you all here either. Any reason?"

"Um, it's a long story." Virginia smiled. Maya smiled back. They had become surprisingly friendly towards one another even after past events. "Why don't we take a table and we'll tell you what happened?" Maya agreed, and soon they had all ordered some food and sat at the restaurant section of the games room.

"Wow, you guys've had some ride." Maya said. "So now you're hunting down some group that wants to destroy the world huh?" She laughed. "I guess some things never changed." Virginia joined in, leaving Jet and Clive bewildered.

"It's probably a girl thing." Clive said to Jet, who nodded in agreement.

After having a small meal and a long chat, a message came out on the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The great three-way dance competition will be beginning soon! The unique competition where it takes THREE to tango! All participants join the dance floor!" Virginia and Maya looked up with glee.

"I wanna enter!!!" They both squealed.

"Another girl thing." Jet said to Clive, who nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the two girls took a look at Jet. He looked at them, then panicked in realization.

"No! There's no way you're getting me on that dance floor!" Jet looked away, but the two girls had gotten up and were standing by his sides.

"Come on, Jet! It'll be fun!" Virginia pulled him up.

"Yeah! What she said!" Maya pulled up his other side.

Jet was about to disagree again, but the speaker boomed in interruption.

"Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that the prizes for the winners are three beautiful diamonds! One for each contestant of the winning group!" Jet suddenly stopped and thought for a moment.

"... Yeah, whatever." He finally gave in to them. Jet was a real sucker for anything with monetary value. Clive wished them luck as he watched them walk over to the dance floor.

"Jet is such a player." He looked on, waiting for the competition to begin.

* * *

**6:00 P.M – The Dance Floor**

Jet, Maya, and Virginia stood on the large dance floor, along with an odd fifteen other teams. People came around to hand them numbers, Jet and company receiving the number thirteen. The announcer grabbed the microphone and signaled the beginning of the competition.

"Okay dancers! The rules are simple! We will play three songs of random genre! To win this, we'll be looking for the best, most unique dancers of the group! The judges will score each group based on originality, enjoyment, and the unique partnerships of the dancers! Good luck to all of you, and let the dancing begin!" He revved up the first track.

"Let's start with some good old hip hoppin' groove! Show us what you got!" Hip hop music began playing, and the contestants began dancing. Virginia expected Jet to feel awkward in this situation, but he was dancing like it was natural for him. Dancing surprisingly well, too.

"Let's go ladies!" Jet said smugly, not even trying to act tough anymore, completely absorbed with winning that diamond. Jet was popping to the music, and Virginia and Maya joined in, having a blast. Jet showed his skill at dancing with style that could shame Michael Jackson. The crowd loved him, and his partners joined in with him. After some mild coordination, they gave a fantastic display of synchronized popping, which earned them some hollers from the crowd. Afterwards, the track ended, and the DJ was back on the air.

"Well, well, well! I saw some fine moves out there from our grooved up contestants! Now we're going to move on to a more intimate style. Tango! Boys, get ready to strut your stuff as you lead your fine, foxy ladies into the dance of passion!" Tango music began playing, the very same that Gallows and Clive had hummed all the time. Jet threw the girls a suave look, causing them both the blush.

"May I have this dance?" Jet said courteously, causing the two to blush even more at the side of Jet they'd never seen. He put out his two hands for them and they took it. Jet practically picked them both up at the same time, and began the dance with a strong dip. The crowd cheered in amazement, as Jet pulled them both up, and spun them out. Then he stepped up to Virginia and took her for a short solo. Jet was leading her by the waist and neck, and doing so very well. Jet spun her out again, pulled her to a stop, then grabbed Maya and spun her in again. After a short solo with her, he let them both go, and tangoed his way to a table, where he picked up two flowers with his mouth, before turning back to the girls and giving a standing performance of his quick feet. They responded with their own moves, and they slowly danced their way together. Jet proceeded to move up close to Virginia's face and motioned for her to grab a flower with her mouth. Virginia did, and then spun Jet out, letting him go. Jet spun then came to a sudden stop, striking a pose at Virginia and Maya. They followed suit, spinning around before striking their own pose. Jet gracefully slid his way to them, moving for Maya to take his second flower. She did so, and Jet picked them both up again, sweeping them off their feet for an even deeper double dip. The crowd went wild. Just as Jet was slowly pulling the girls back up, the music came to a close.

"Well, that sure separated the Casanovas from the wannabes! The judges will now choose our three finalist groups, who will dance the final song! Who will they be?" The crowd waited for the call, while the dancers took a break.

"Wow Jet." Maya said, breathing heavily. "Never knew you were such a fine dancer."

Jet blushed, and apparently the loss of music brought Jet back to his more known self. "Y-Yeah, whatever. You guys aren't bad either."

"You should've told me you could dance so well! I would've loved to watch you!" Virginia said happily, acting as though they hadn't been dancing hard out for the past fifteen minutes.

"Well folks, the results are in! The following three teams are in the finals!" A drum roll began. "Number four!" A group of two guys and a girl dressed in mambo outfits jumped up, receiving a round of applause. "Number ten!" A group of three guys wearing very tight outfits (Oh God!) began posing and acting macho. The crowd laughed and cheered. "And the final team to get into the finals..." Everyone looked in anticipation. "Number thirteen!" Jet, Virginia, and Maya punched the air in delight, receiving an even larger round of applause from the crowd than the other teams. "Thanks to all the other participants, you were great!" The other teams shuffled off, and the crowd gave a friendly clap.

"This is it!" Jet reverted to dance maniac form, looking surprisingly macho. The DJ continued.

"For the final round, we will be revving up the most exotic dance on this side of Filgaia! Dirty dancing!" The crowd cheered in delight, especially the men. "We'll be looking out for the dirtiest, most body-tingling dancing that you guys can dish out! We wanna see some body contact, folks! The more enticing, the better!" Jet and Virginia blushed a little, but Maya seemed exuberant.

"This is really easy stuff! We just gotta get up close with lots of hip movement and a lotta touching! It's simple!" They looked at her, then at each other, and blushed even more. The music came on, slow R&B, and the dancers began to get intimate. The mambo team were really laying it on, the guys shaking their hips on either side as she caressed her body with her hands. I won't even go into what the three men were doing (But I'm sure it could make most of the crowd puke O).

Jet had returned to dance maniac mode, but Virginia was still a little embarrassed. Maya, on the other hand, treated it like second nature.

"Let's go, tiger!" She said seductively, as she slowly and sexily slid her hand along her body. Jet followed on and moved closer, rotating his hips by Maya's leg. The crowd was going crazy. "Come on, Virginia! I know you wanna!" She winked.

Virginia was still a little embarrassed, but she also didn't want Jet getting so close to Maya. So she finally gave in and walked up to them. She grabbed Jet's shoulders and swung him into her direction, then got in close, moving one of Jet's legs between hers as they started swaying exotically.

"I like your hair. It looks great." Jet finally said to her in their close quarters. Virginia smiled seductively. Jet then continued by grabbing her waist and lifting her up, dipping her again, but this time their bodies closer together. Jet pulled her back up, and Maya joined in from behind him, rubbing her back slowly down his. Virginia was doing similar, moving down the front of Jet, slowly playing her hands down his body. The men in the crowd cheered in jealousy. Jet turned and pulled them up by the sides of his body, then bent his knees and sat the girls on them. He then proceeded to rock them around by moving his hips. The crowd cheered at Jet's fantastic move. Soon the music stopped, and the competition was over.

"Well I've gotta say, the dancers weren't the only ones working up a sweat!" The crowd laughed in agreement. "The judges shall now tally the scores for our finalists, and announce the winner!"

The last three groups were ushered to the center of the dance floor. The numbers were called from third to first.

"Third place is awarded to... Team number four!" The crowd cheered, and the three took their bronze medallions. They stood aside, leaving the last two groups – Team Jet and Team Macho (Good lord what'd they do to beat the Mambo team?).

"This is it, second place goes to... Team Number Ten!" The crowd cheered out like crazy, mostly for Team Jet though. The men took their medals and stood aside.

"Ladies and gentlemen! I am proud to announce that team thirteen, these three fabulous individuals, are branded the greatest three-way dancers ever seen in Filgaia!" The crowd yelled and whistled in congratulation. Jet, Virginia, and Maya waved in thanks.

"And here are your prizes!" The man handed them three golden medals, as well as three diamonds. Or at least, what Jet expected to be diamonds.

"Hey, I thought you said we get diamonds!" He said, staring at his fake prize. "What the hell is this?"

"Oh, you must've misunderstood, these are called mirror diamonds. They're quite rare and difficult to make, and are also usually used as a present for someone you care about deeply."

"A present?" Jet stood for a moment, thinking about what could happen giving it to a certain someone.

"Tsk, whatever." Jet shrugged, took his prize, and walked off. Virginia and Maya followed, and they returned to the table where Clive was sitting. He gave them a clap as they returned.

"You three were great." He commended. They sat down in exhaustion.

"Jet was especially." Maya said after catching her breath.

"I agree! Jet was incredible!" Jet went red, remembering how he had acted during his dance trauma.

"Indeed he is!" Clive looked at his pocket watch. "Well, the casino should be opening in a bit. I'd better head on my way." He stood up and stretched. "You guys should get some rest. No doubt all that dancing tired you all out?" They answered with their look. "I'll return tomorrow morning. Good night!" Clive made his leave, and Jet, Maya and Virginia returned to their rooms.

Maya didn't have a room, so Virginia and Jet let her bunk up with them (Not like in bed together, I just mean they're letting her stay over). Maya insisted on staying in Jet's room, so Virginia said she wanted to as well, since his room was closer than her room, and she was too tired to walk all the way. They all went in, and in their exhaustion, all plomped onto Jet's bed, soon falling asleep.

* * *

**9:00 P.M – The Black Cards Casino**

Clive reviewed the information he collected.

'Okay, I'm looking for a balding man with a scarred eye, fairly short, carries a chipmunk around with him. He finds the best players to join the Midnight Gamble private game, where I can find all the high-ranked men of this city.'

He looked around to find him, checking the various poker, blackjack, and roulette tables. He finally spotted him playing on a blackjack table at the other end of the room. He made his way over and took a seat, along with a posh-looking man in a suit, and a woman wearing a sparkling, revealing dress.

"Hello fellow gamblers." Clive tried to sound like a regular, the others looked at him.

"Good evening," He said while stroking his chipmunk. "They call me Leftie."

"The names Pond. Shane Pond." The suit said.

"I'm Sexy." The flimsy woman said. At first Clive thought she was describing herself, but worked out she meant it as her name.

"Um, I'm Clive." He said uncomfortably. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**9:00 P.M – The Hotel**

'Those guys don't think I can get on the big man's good side, huh?" Gallows grumbled in his room. Then he had an idea. He jumped up.

"That's it! I'll show 'em I can do it!" Gallows jumped up and ran out the door, making his way to the Black Cards Casino.

TO BE CONTINUED!

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I decided that with all that's happening that I should leave the casino to the next chapter. So I'll pick up where I left off, folks! Oh and in case you didn't know, the guys at the table are meant to represent Bond, that evil guy with one eye and a pet, and some random hot chick with a funky name. I own Sexy and the chipmunk, but not James Bond or Mr One-eye D.NEXT TIME!  
  
Clive continues his gambling escapades with his estranged opponents! And Gallows attempts to help in his own, strange way to get inside the Casino and into the Head Honchos' eyes! Will Clive successfully bet his way into the big time? Will Gallows' plan actually work? Will anything funny happen after Jet, Virginia, and Maya wake up to find themselves in the same bed? FIND OUT!  



	6. Jailbreak Night

**Disclaimer: **If anything I used has EVER been seen before, chances are I don't own it.

**Author's Note:** Sorry this chapter took me so long to write, I was having writer's block . Anyway, I've got it back, so I should be able to update a little more often from now on. Sorry for the wait! Please don't hurt me cries!!!

DAY 3 – Jailbreak Night

* * *

**9:30 P.M – Blackjack Table**

Clive had played for a good half hour, but he hadn't been quite outstanding enough to be considered a good player. He tried to think of a way to get around this predicament. He looked at the deck, sitting in the middle of the table. Finally he had an idea, which he felt would work brilliantly.

* * *

**11:00 P.M – Casino Jail**

Clive was roughly dragged and thrown into a dank cell by two brutes. They locked the door and left. Clive brushed himself off and looked around, where he noticed he was in fact with someone else. Someone he knew.

"For some reason, I'm not very surprised." Clive sighed and sat next to his teammate Gallows.

"So what're you in for, anyway?" Gallows asked. Clive just sighed.

**Flashback**

"Your turn, Clive." Leftie said, as the dealer flipped his card. He had seventeen. He continued with his plan as he had before. He threw up a bomb into the air, which blew up, causing everyone on the table to look up. He hurriedly scanned the next card in the deck, which just happened to be four. He was going to continue as he had the past ten rounds, replacing the card and acting normal, but this time he was seen by Leftie.

"HEY! You're cheating!" Leftie said in horror. "Guards!"

Two burly men came and grabbed him, hauling him off in the direction of the cell.

**End Flashback**

"Haha, you're such an idiot!" Gallows laughed at his friend.

"Well, what about you then?" Clive said after whacking him.

**Flashback**

"And tonight, we're having a special guest! Here's the beautiful lady you've all been waiting for! The talented Cherry Tarrington!" The crowd cheered, as the curtains spread to reveal the silhouette of someone holding a guitar along with two dolls beside him. The person turned around, and the crowd gasped in horror.

Instead of Cherry Tarrington, the famous guitarist beauty, there stood Gallows, the not-so-known monster-attracting moron, dressed in a flowing gown and wearing his hair with ribbons. He was about to bust into a song, but was promptly pulled out by a bunch of guys, and taken to the cell. The crowd burst in applause at the sight of Gallows being dragged off.

**End Flashback**

"And you're calling me and idiot." Clive retorted.

"Let's just get outta here, okay?" Gallows got up to try and find a way out, feeling out the walls. "I think this is a switch!" Gallows tried to push one of the bricks, but it didn't budge. That didn't mean he stopped pushing it though.

"This is going to be a long night." He glanced over at Gallows, who was making groaning noises as he tried to push harder. "A very long night."

* * *

**11:30 P.M – The Hotel**

"What are you doing here, Zero?" a sweet girl said to him, as he sat by a tree gazing at the stars.

"Looking at the stars, it really makes you wonder." The young man looked intently at the girl's eyes. She sat by him.

"Wonder about what, Zero?" her eyes moved from the young boy to the sky, trying to work out what he meant.

"The land of Filgaia is dying, yet those stars still shine as they have for many years as I have watched. But even stars die. Do you know what this means Karen?"

"What?" Karen asked.

"Nothing can last forever."

Suddenly the sky was shrouded in clouds, thunder booming through the land. The man called Zero had turned into something inhuman. Darkened skin, long gray hair, and six devilish wings sprouting from his back. He looked up at Jet, who found himself floating in Zero's face. What Jet saw made him scream.

He saw his face.

"Guh!" Jet got up with a start, rolling off the bed in his commotion. His heart was pounding as he slowly got up. "What the hell was that?"

"Mmm... Jet, hug me tighter..." Virginia murmured, hugging Jet's pillow tightly.

"Oh Jet, you're such a player. How cute." Maya was caressing Virginia's leg, drooling slightly.

Jet didn't hear it very clearly, still feeling tired and shaky at the same time. He crept out of the room and quietly closed the door. He went to Gallows' room to take a shower where the only one he'd bother was someone who could sleep through an explosion.

"Hey Tubby, I'm using your shower." Jet said as he walked in. He wasn't expecting an answer, thinking he'd still be asleep. Instead he found an empty bed with a scrappy note on it.

'At the casino. Gonna get info! –Gallows'

Jet looked at the note and shuddered.

"This couldn't be any worse." Just then an announcement came out of the radio in Gallows' room, which he had left on.

"Just a few moments ago, a man was jailed at the Black Cards Casino for trying to impersonate famous guitarist Cherry Tarrington. He appears to be an uncouth, tribal Satanist of some kind."

"Okay, NOW it couldn't get any worse." Jet slapped his forehead.

"Also, another man was taken in for cheating at the casino. He appears to be a highly-intelligent-looking theft mastermind."

Jet stood there blankly.

"This sucks."

* * *

**11:40 P.M – Black Cards Casino**

Jet stood in the lobby of the casino, wearing a wide brimmed hat to hide his face. He'd be in deep trouble if they discovered his childish appearance. He looked around and saw some guards standing by an elevator. A posh man walked up to them and was let into the elevator. Jet had studied a special map of the place, which he acquired from Clive's notes, which showed the prison could be reached at the basement floor from that elevator.

"Hmm..." Jet thought of how to get past the guards. He took a look at the guards and found they looked excessively stupid. Even for Gallows' standards. He smiled and walked up to them, tipping his hat down.

"Hold on, mister." One of the guards said stupidly. "This are private property!" The other guard nodded.

"Don't you know who I am?" Jet snapped.

"Um... No." one of them said slowly. Jet speedily reached out grabbed the guard's collar.

"You saying you don't know me?" Jet said evilly. The guard's started to panic, thinking he was a CEO or something.

"Oh, oh it's you sir! P-Please, come right in!" he looked like he was close to tears. Jet had to fight the urge to snigger.

PING.

The elevator doors opened and Jet stepped in, pushing the basement button.

"Good day, gentlemen." Jet tipped his hat down again. The guards bowed down to him nervously.

As the doors closed and the elevator began to descend, Jet smiled.

"Idiots."

**11:57 P.M – Basement Level**

"Okay, it's this one, I'm sure!"

Gallows was now pushing on his fifty-seventh block, and was driving Clive insane. Clive resorted to crouching in a corner and talking with his hands, all the while snickering and shaking. He snapped out of it at the sound of a guard hitting the floor, and looked up to see Jet holding his Airget.

"You guys are really useless sometimes." Jet sighed and freed his comrades.

"Thanks for the rescue Jet." Clive said. Jet grabbed their ARMs and threw it to them.

"Psh! I could've gotten out sooner or later! Look I'll bet this brick is the exit, and I have to shoot it!" Gallows pointed his Coyote at a brick in the corner. But it wasn't a brick. He fired at it and all of a sudden sirens went off all around the casino.

"Gallows... That's part of the security system" Clive said slowly.

"Shit, let's go! Guards'll be pouring in any minute now!"

They ran for the elevator as fast as they could. Luckily, it seemed the elevator hadn't been called to another floor yet. They got in and Jet pushed for first floor lobby.

"Get ready guys, there could be guards galore here, but it'll be the fastest way out." The other two nodded at Jet, readying themselves.

PING.

Jet stood there in surprise as they saw a good twenty guards pointing ARMs right into the elevator.

"Um... Hehe, wrong floor." Jet pushed the door close button and dashed to the side of the elevator to avoid the cloud of bullets. He then pushed floor three.

PING.

"Well, shit." Jet saw a familiar scene of an odd twenty guards pointing ARMs at them. He hit the door close again, pressing one again.

PING.

"Oh yeah." Jet closed the door again. This time pressing forty-seven.

"How're we gonna get outta this building at floor forty-seven?" Gallows said. Jet looked at him confidently.

"I have a plan."

PING.

The doors opened at floor forty-seven, where many guards were waiting for the wanted trio. They glanced inside and found nobody there.

"What the hell?" Gallows said, receiving a prompt smack from Clive.

"Quiet."

Sitting on top of the elevator were Jet, Clive and Gallows, who had climbed up the emergency hatch and into the dark elevator chamber.

The guards had gotten into a commotion, calling the other guards for any sign of them.

"Okay, here's the plan. I'm going to floor forty-eight. When I give you guys the signal, you jump down the hatch and head for the first floor again. Get out, and keep running. Get to the hotel, grab Virginia and Maya, and get the hell out of this place. I'll meet you outside of town."

"You sure about this, punk?" Gallows asked, but Jet had already grabbed the service ladder. He looked at them, and smiled.

"Of course not." Jet continued his ascent, leaving his two comrades to wait for the signal.

"What's the signal gonna be?" Gallows asked.

"I'm sure we'll know when we hear it.

* * *

**11:59 P.M – Floor Forty-Eight**

The guards were all on their radio, asking around for where the prisoners were. They were interrupted by a bang from the elevator door. It had been blown open by Jet's Airget, and he jumped in, ARM blazing.

"Found him! Floor forty-eight! Go go go!" the guards from every floor made their way to floor forty-eight, including the guards one floor down.

Jet dashed up stairs to the second last floor, forty-nine, firing randomly at the never-ending swarm of guards he had attracted.

"Come and get me, idiots!"

* * *

**11:59 P.M – Elevator Shaft**

BOOM.

Jet had been seen bursting through the elevator door, followed by screams and gunfire. They heard the guards on their floor heading upwards, followed by an odd thousand more.

"I think that was the signal." Clive jumped down and pushed one on the elevator, causing it to head for ground level. The guards took no notice of this, too busy scrambling for the next floor.

PING.

They doors slid open to reveal that the floor was basically abandoned. Clive and Gallows ran out and headed for the door.

"What about the punk?" Gallows huffed as they ran for the hotel.

"He's trusting us to take care of Virginia and Maya, so we should respect that. He'll be fine." However Clive was thinking otherwise. Theoretically, Jet was in a position that few men would survive for the time that Jet had at this moment. Even moreso, no ordinary man could survive the situation Jet was in now. Clive prayed he would indeed meet Jet outside the town.

* * *

**12:13 A.M – Floor Forty-Nine**

Jet had been fighting quite well to this point, managing to take down numerous amounts of his attackers, but he was running low on options and ammunition.

"This really sucks." Jet took down another guard as he ran through the many corridors of the casino suites. He had to find a way out, and soon.

"There he is! Get him!"

"Cripes!" Jet saw another twenty guards advancing behind him. He dashed faster, choosing to be anywhere instead of in front of twenty ARMs. He ended up finding another staircase, heading up to the final level. Thinking it was better than nothing, he ran up the final flight of stairs to reach the final floor.

* * *

**12:13 A.M – Town Outskirts**

"Where is he..." Clive stood staring at Gambler's Heaven. He was growing worried, and he hadn't wanted to tell Virginia the truth of the situation, instead telling her that Jet had an errand to run.

"Why don't I go look for him?" Virginia asked. She made to head back to the city, but was halted by Gallows.

"Really, Ginny, we should wait here." Gallows said nervously. He was also growing worried.

"No way! I think we should go get him!" Maya piped up. Todd, Alfred and Shady had gone with them after Maya grabbed them at the hotel.

"We'll go look too!" Alfred offered. He was seconded by Todd and Shady.

Clive sighed. "I guess I have no choice Gallows."

"If you say so." Gallows said sadly.

"What is it...?" Virginia asked, hoping it wasn't something bad.

"Right now, Jet's stuck in the casino. He went to bail Gallows and myself out, and helped us escape by distracting the guards. Right now... he must be fighting against almost thirty thousand men. And since he hasn't met us here up until now, then I think he could be..." He lowered his head.

The blood started to leave Virginia's face. She was about to break for the city, but Gallows held onto her.

"Don't do it! We can't stop that many men! We would be wasting the punk's sacrifice!" Gallows had said something surprisingly correct, which annoyed Virginia a lot. She fell to her knees, tears forming in her eyes.

"No, Jet..."

* * *

**12:15 P.M – Floor Fifty**

"Shit!" Jet looked around to find the room was already filled with numerous guards, who looked much more professional than the guards downstairs. At the other end of the dark room was a desk, the chair facing away from him, so he couldn't tell if someone was there. He dropped his ARM and put his hands up.

"One man, no, a mere boy, took down almost one fifth of my small army. That's about three thousand plus men." The man in the chair turned to reveal himself. He was holding onto a chipmunk in his right hand, his left spinning a revolver. "You indeed deserve the title of Zero. Even in this pitiful form, you are still capable of doing more than someone equal to you could do."

The name felt familiar to Jet, but he couldn't recall.

"Who are you?" Jet tried to buy himself time.

"The owner of this casino. I am called Leftie. I believe you also know my boss. Does the name Eroz ring any bells?"

Jet flinched at the sound of his name. Jet was still cautious of Eroz, remembering how intense his strength was.

"I'll take that as a yes." He stood up from his seat. He clicked his fingers, and two guards grabbed Jet and dragged him up to the table.

"Eroz doesn't refer to me as Leftie, though." Leftie bent forward. "He calls me Four, otherwise known as the Fourth Fallen."

Jet's eyes widened in surprise. Suddenly Jet felt a sharp blow to the back of his head, and felt himself losing consciousness. He glanced up at Four, his vision already blurring.

"Eroz will be very happy to meet you again."

UNCONSCIOUS.

**END DAY 3**


	7. Jailhouse Brawl

DAY 4 – Jailhouse Brawl

Disclaimer: Wild ARMs. A great game. A great story. It isn't mine.

* * *

**7:25 A.M – Humphrey's Peak**

Clive and Gallows managed to persuade Virginia, along with Maya and her group, to plan their next move at his home. Needless to say, it was a pretty cramped night. They had arrived in the early hours of the day, and decided to turn in before anything. Virginia had had a rough night though, unable to sleep, the line she heard replaying in her head like a broken record.

"_He could be..." _Clive's last sentence echoed in her head. Virginia sighed and got up, heading for the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror, and found she had been crying a lot, and she hadn't noticed. She fell to her knees.

"Jet... You can't be..." She saw flashbacks of all the times they spent together, and she softly cried.

"Hey..." Virginia turned and saw Maya standing at the doorway. "Couldn't sleep either, huh..."

Virginia wiped her face and got up. She tried to say something, but didn't know what. She closed her mouth again and looked down. Maya put her hands on Virginia's shoulders and tried to comfort her.

"Come on, he wouldn't want you to be like this. Besides, when he comes back for you, don't you want to look your best for him?" Virginia looked up at Maya, and saw she also had tears in her eyes. "I know he's coming back," Maya smiled. "After all, he's too thick to die just like that!" Virginia couldn't help but giggle.

"You're right!" Virginia straightened herself out. "The others should be waking up soon, and we're gonna find Jet!" she made her way for the door, then turned back at Maya. "Um, Maya..."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Virginia smiled before skipping downstairs to have breakfast. Maya smiled for a moment, tears slowly seeping out of her eyes.

"Jet... I don't want to be a liar. Don't die on me. On everyone."

* * *

**7:40 A.M – Unknown Prison Cell**

"So this is Zero? Doesn't look much." An Australian accented man said.

"Looks can be deceiving. The true Zero is still dormant. This is merely a fragment of his power." A deep, American voice said.

"Ugh..." Jet tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. He guessed he was blindfolded. His hands were also tied up in the air, holding him above the ground. Judging from how cold it was, he was only wearing his pants, and wherever he was, it was freezing. All he could do was listen to their voices.

"Can't believe Three of all people is getting the credit for this maggot." The Australian voice snorted. Jet heard him punch the wall. "I could've done it, but I've been holed up here the whole time!"

"Quiet fool, the job's done. Eroz's plans are top priority. Don't forget that, Three." The American voice was drifting off, along with footsteps. Jet worked out that he had left. The Australian voice was also growing distant.

"That Two thinks he's so great." He muttered, and walked off. Jet took this opportunity to try and wrestle out of the constraints, but to no avail.

"Damn..." Jet felt like crap. His body ached all over, and the back of his head felt like a knife had sliced into it. He also realized he was dead hungry. He was in no condition to protect himself. Let alone escape.

"Are you okay?" a girl's voice said near him. "Here, have some water."

Jet felt a tray of water come to his lips, and drank it gratefully. After taking a few gulps, the girl lowered the tray again.

"Thanks." Jet said. He felt a little better, but he was still hungry. "Who are you? And where am I?"

"I'm not sure where this is, but it's the home of the guys calling themselves the Fallen. I'm sure you know who they are, or you wouldn't be in here." Jet felt her hand washing his face with water.

"Yeah, you could say I know them." Jet frowned at the thought of them. "And you? Who are you?"

The girl stopped wiping his face. "Oh, sorry! My name's Karen, nice to meet you."

"Karen..." The name rang a bell, but Jet couldn't quite remember.

* * *

**8:00 A.M – Clive's House**

Everyone had finally woken up. Virginia, Gallows, Clive, Maya, Alfred, Shady, and Todd all took a seat in the lounge, which took a while trying to work out how to fit everyone. After finally working out an acceptable layout, they commenced the 'let's-find-Jet' meeting.

"Exactly how are we gonna find him? I mean, we're not even sure if he's still..." He didn't finish the sentence, remembering that it was a sensitive subject.

"He IS alive. I know it." Virginia said confidently. "And he probably needs our help right now!"

"I agree. Jet isn't the kind of guy who'd lose just like that." Maya said. "And don't worry, I'm gonna help you guys find him too!"

"Thank you, Maya." Clive said. "Your help is greatly appreciated, however there's still the problem of actually knowing where to start. We have no leads whatsoever." Everyone knew he was right. They couldn't go back to the hotel, as it was closed off after the incident last night. Anyone who could've seen Jet that night had either moved on, or had been one of the soldiers trying to kill him. Catherine came in the door, she had been out earlier that day, and a woman came in with her. When they saw her, Clive and Gallows had a nosebleed, and Virginia's jaw hit the floor.

"IRIS???" Indeed, the crazy, hormone-packed doctor was standing next to a fairly annoyed Catherine.

"Ah, she said that she knew you, honey. Is this true?" Catherine was holding a frying pan in her hand, an evil, menacing look in her eyes.

"Ah, well... You see, it's not like that... Um..." Clive wiped his nose up and tried to explain. After a few minutes of clanging and shouting in the kitchen, the two came back out.

"You should've just told me there was nothing between you two." Catherine said to a fairly beaten-up Clive.

"Right, sorry honey." Clive took a seat and let his head rest on the table. Attention returned to Iris.

"What are you doing here?" asked an angry Virginia. "We don't have time for your antics, and besides, Jet isn't here."

"Oh, I already know, cutie." Iris said sweetly. "In fact, I know where my little love-bunny is right now."

Everyone looked up at her.

"You know where he is? How?" Maya asked in a hurry.

"Well, if you must know, at the clinic, I put a special tracking device on his manly chest. I wanted to know where my cute baby was all the time!" she squealed.

"Stalker." Virginia murmured.

"Why would you be telling us this? I mean, wouldn't you be better off finding him yourself?" Gallows asked.

"That's true, but when I looked up where he was, and thought I'd need help." Iris took a seat on the coffee table. "We'll make a temporary truce to get back Jet. I'll tell you where he is, and you help me get him out."

Virginia was about to argue, but Maya stopped her.

"Play along with it, she's the only lead we have. Do it for Jet."

Virginia bit her lip.

"Agreed. Let's go."

* * *

**8:30 A.M – Jet's Cell**

Jet's arms were getting sore from his hanging position.

"How are you feeling?" Karen asked again.

"Pretty crappy."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Well, unless you can get me down, feed me, and find my clothes, not much. Thanks anyway." Jet sighed. Suddenly, Jet heard someone walking up to them and opening the cell door. Whoever it was pulled Jet off the hook with ease and pulled off his blindfold. He saw the place to be very dank and dark, the only light source being a single lamp hanging outside the cell.

"Let's go, runt. You're going to be entertaining us today. The armies are bored, and they need to release their anger on someone." The guard laughed evilly.

"Jet!" Karen tried to grab him, but the man pushed her away with ease.

"Stay in your cell, wench!" The guard locked the door again and hustled Jet outside.

**9:00 A.M – Castle Courtyard**

Jet had been ushered outside, where it was snowing slightly, and the sun was hardly visible through the foggy atmosphere. Many men were standing around watching Jet intently.

"I'm itching to fight! Hurry up!" One of them said. The guard undid Jet's hands and pushed him forward, causing the weak Jet to hit the snow-covered floor.

"Get up, runt! You're going to fight me first!" A big, brutish man picked Jet up and stood him up, before launching an almighty blow into Jet's gut, causing him to fall to his knees.

"Nngh..." Jet's eyes were fairly useless at the moment, as they were still trying to adapt to the sudden brightness of the snow. In this time, he was kicked around a lot, leaving Jet in a bad state. Finally Jet's eyes refocused, and Jet was pissed.

"Hey ugly, I got something for you." Jet slowly pushed himself off the floor.

"Ugly? I'll show you!" The large man stomped towards Jet, about to stamp his foot on him. Suddenly, Jet's hands lashed upward, grabbing his huge foot, which was bigger than Jet's head. Jet slowly pushed it upwards, eventually causing the man to topple backwards.

"W-What??" The other guards whispered to each other through gasps. Jet got on his feet and took on a fighting stance. He was unarmed, and all his equipment was missing. But after the beating, he was in a fighting mood.

"Get up, Lardarse. I'm not done with you." The guard angrily got up, and tried to charge at Jet, but failed. Jet simply sidestepped, throwing his leg high into the air before smashing his heel on the brute's neck, knocking him out. "Hmph, too easy."

The other guards looked at him nervously. Jet's gaze slowly turned to them, evil intent playing along his eyes.

"Let's just attack him all together! No way he can beat us all at the same time!" someone in the crowd yelled. Everyone agreed, and they charged at Jet.

"Tch." Jet just sighed, activating his accelerator and making short work of the group in a mere fourteen seconds. At the end, Jet stood in the middle, deactivating his Accelerator, and watching as the guards simultaneously hit the floor. He turned to the guard that dragged him out, who was backing away in fear.

"You. Give me the key to the cell. Now!" Jet snapped at him, causing the guard to jump in fright. He shakily took out his keys and handed them to Jet, who snatched them up.

"Thank you." Jet said, before punching him the jaw, knocking him unconscious.

Jet ran back to the cell and unlocked the door. He grabbed Karen's hand.

"Come on! I'm getting you out of here!"

"Jet!" Karen smiled weakly. She let Jet lead her back outside to the courtyard, where Jet noticed that all the guards had disappeared.

"Nice job with the soldiers, mate." An Australian accented man was standing at the other end of the courtyard, holding a fairly large hunting knife. "Let's see how you fare with Three of the Fallen!"

Jet pushed Karen behind her, taking up a defensive position.

"Hey, I'm going to distract him, and I want you to run past him to that door. I'm pretty sure it's the exit, I could feel a lot of wind coming out of it. Get out of here and find somewhere to hole up. Don't wait up for me." Jet launched himself at Three, throwing a strong punch. Three dodged and sliced at Jet with his knife, missing by inches. Jet managed to kick Three to the ground, and motioned for Karen to get out. Karen nodded and ran to the door, and turned before leaving.

"Thank you, Jet." She disappeared behind the door, leaving Jet to concentrate on Three.

Three had already gotten up and thrusted his knife at Jet, who wasn't so lucky this time. He received a painful slice in his arm, which he clutched in pain.

"Argh!" Jet took a step back. Three laughed at him.

"You're nothing mate! I fought the Guardians themselves! You can't even compare! Looks like Zero was just a folk tale after all!"

Jet was bleeding badly. He decided his best chance was to end this now. He activated his Accelerator again, and dashed at Three with immense speed. Jet gave Three everything he had, and soon had Three on the floor, looking half-dead.

"This is it!" Jet prepared to throw the final punch, but felt a sharp blow to the back of his neck, which threw his face deep into the snow. Whoever hit him was strong. Very strong.

"What the hell are you doing, Three?" It was Two. He stepped over Jet and stood near Three. "You were beaten down to this state this easily? You must be growing soft."

"Shut up." Three wheezed as he got up. He walked over to Jet and gave him a strong kick to the face, knocking Jet out.

"That's what you get, rat!" Three limped off, leaving Two with Jet.

"The almighty Zero. It would seem Eroz was right in being so afraid of you." He looked at Jet's withered body. "Your true power must be indescribable."

He grabbed Jet's arms and hauled him back to the cell.

* * *

**11:30 A.M – Lombardia**

"We're going where??" Gallows asked in shock.

"I said we're going to a place called Birthright! My father worked in a special project involving Birthright, which was called the coldest place on Filgaia. Mainly because it's the only place that isn't a hot desert. Instead, it's a snow-filled land isolated from the rest of Filgaia." Iris explained again.

"It's amazing that such a place can exist..." Clive said in awe.

"I have heard of Birthright." Lombardia spoke out. "The ancient land where the Guardians and Fallen clashed. It is truly a cursed land. An old dragon folklore spoke of a being born that could destroy or protect the world, hence the name Birthright."

"Wha?" Gallows was, as usual, lost.

"Don't get your little peabrain into a twist, just forget about it." Maya sighed. She didn't like slow people, and Gallows was so slow, he'd have to think faster to stop thinking.

"So what exactly is the reason you needed our help?" Virginia asked.

"The land of Birthright is, as Lombardia said, cursed. So it would be silly for a sexy, seductive, young girl such as myself to go by myself." Iris hugged herself protectively, giggling incessantly. Virginia looked at her nervously.

"Uh... Right. I'll just be happy when we find Jet!" Virginia said happily. When Iris came with news of Jet, she was happy to know he was still alive. Well, it was either that, or someone had taken the tracking device off Jet and brought it to the Birthright, which she hoped wasn't the case.

"Jet... We're coming... I'm coming..." Virginia whispered to herself.

* * *

MIDDAY

END CHAPTER 7

Author's Notes: I think I can update around once a week if not moreso, I've been loaded down with studies and homework. But hey, the reviews helped me want to write more, so thanks everyone!

NEXT CHAPTER!

Virginia and co. are making their way for Jet's position! But will they make it in time? Jet's condition worsens by the second, and his chances of surviving against the Fallen are slim. And what about Karen? Did she manage to escape unscathed? Or do the Fallen still have her in their demonic grasps? And will Iris get her perverted hands on Jet once more??? 


	8. Zero

** Chapter 8 – Zero**

A/N: Things coming around slowly. I've been busy with exams and all, so :( . I'll try to update whenever I can! Hopefully I'll have more time in the near future. This chapter won't be as comical as usual, but I'm trying to play the story out a bit here.

* * *

**12:30 P.M – Birthright**

"W-w-w-w-w-w-well. I-It sure is c-c-c-cold out here." Clive said through shivers. Nobody had expected Birthright to be as cold as they found it. And nobody had bothered to pack extra clothing. And so, everyone was stuck wearing clothes designed for the heat of Filgaia, while standing in the middle of the snow. "V-Virginia, h-how are you d-doing?"

"I'm fine!" Virginia was still her cheery self, unbelievably unaffected by the cold. If anything, she was so fired up, the snow at her feet looked like it was melting. "What about you Gallows?"

Everyone turned to Gallows, to find a large, man-sized popsicle in his place. Everyone merely sighed. They didn't have their Guardians to help them, they were left with Jet. So, they decided that Gallows was a fairly strong guy, the kind of person who could take a little damage. Everyone raised their ARMs and shot the ice off of Gallows. Finally, after a couple of rounds of ammo, Gallows was released from his icy prison, along with some bullet bruises for souvenirs.

"V-Very funny, g-guys." Gallows said sarcastically.

Iris had instructed them to be dropped off a fair distance away from Eroz's base to avoid being seen. After getting dropped off, Iris left them to be taken to a nearby cottage, where she would prepare their escape. They had about a half hour walk before reaching the place, and then it would be the matter of getting in. They began walking towards the base.

"S-So c-c-c-cold!" Gallows whined.

"Not really." Todd said. Everyone looked over to notice that Todd was perfectly fine. "Well, I AM a well-trained swordsman. Part of the image is to withstand extreme climate, is it not?"

Everyone just rolled their eyes and concentrated on walking.

"Maya, why d-don't you just cast us a spell for some kind of b-barrier?" Alfred suggested.

"W-Worth a shot, I g-guess." Maya pulled out her spell book and her mage outfit. After an awkward moment of turning away as she changed, she was finally ready to try casting something.

"Aleeeetoooorrr…" Maya waved her arms dramatically, deep in concentration. After five minutes of chanting, a large puff of smoke appeared beside her. As it cleared away, they found a double decker tour bus had replaced the empty space. Of course, in Filgaia, it had never been seen before.

"That's… New." Clive commented.

"T-That's also an ugly ride." Gallows stuttered. Maya gave Gallows an offended look, then got on the bus, followed by the rest of the gang.

"You could always walk if you don't like it." Maya growled.

"I-I'll get in, don't have a cow…" Gallows muttered, reluctantly stepping into the bus.

"Well, let's go!" Maya yelled, and sped off towards the castle. Their half hour walk would be cut down to around ten minutes with the new, yet strange vehicle.

* * *

**12: 33 P.M – Jet's Cell**

"Unngh… Really, hitting me on the head and knocking me out is getting old." Jet woke once more in his cell, a new bruise on his forehead. Lying on the floor, he gently caressed his wound.He had a splitting headache. "Man, if Virginia was here, I bet she'd have some aspirin or something for me… Hmm, I wonder how Virginia is doing… I mean Virginia and the others, not like I have some kind of special affection toward Virginia or something…" Jet began to blush. "Dammit! Even when she's not around, she still bothers me! ARGH!"

Jet's tantrum was halted when he heard the door of his cell open.

"You. Up. Now." It was Two, the tall, American-sounding man. He stood above Jet and pulled him up with ease. "Eroz would like you to eat with him." Jet looked at him with surprise.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Here, put this on, it's going to be a formal party." Two handed Jet a neat suit, the kind worn to fancy parties. Jet looked at it uncertainly.

"You're… Kidding, right?" the look on Two's face clearly showed he was not kidding. Jet sighed, and grabbed the suit. This would be a good opportunity to find a way out, so he decided to play along. Jet dressed himself, while Two flicked through a small novel about the Elws. Jet came out looking snazzy in the well-fitting suit. Jet felt like an idiot however. "Never thought I'd wear one of these. This sucks." Jet groaned. He always saw guys in suits who thought so highly of themselves, so Jet hated suits.

When Jet was ready, Two led Jet outside and they entered the main castle building. The cell had been a separate building altogether from the actual castle. Jet and Two went inside, and after going through a few doors and corridors, came to the main hall. Jet was surprised to see there was something of a party going on. The hall was littered with many people enjoying the food and dancing.

"You are free to roam around and socialize until the meal begins. Don't even think of escaping though, I'll be watching you." Two bowed and took his leave, leaving Jet to wander alone.

"Wow, didn't think so many people would come to a place in the middle of nowhere." Jet felt his stomach rumble, and remembered he hadn't had a good meal for some time. He made a beeline for the buffet, and proceeded to pig out. "Mm, not bad," Jet thought to himself.

After filling himself up, he got down to business. He looked around, trying to find an exit of some sort. The exits were guarded, obviously, and he wasn't exactly equipped to deal with them. If he wanted out, he would need his stuff. Which he happened to see sitting in a small tray, on a large table. Knowing that it wouldn't be that easy, he saw who was sitting at the table and groaned. It was Eroz, Two, and Three.

"Damn." Jet cursed silently. The music stopped, and everyone began taking their seats. A nearby guard ushered Jet towards Eroz's table, and pulled a seat out for him. Jet sat down cautiously, expecting a trap of some sort. The guard left him without another word, however. Eroz smiled at Jet.

"Good evening, Zero! I hope you're enjoying yourself!" he held out a goblet in front of Jet. "Some wine?"

"No." Jet said plainly. Eroz shrugged and took a sip.

"Your loss. It truly is good wine." He set the cup down as food was placed onto the table.

"Ah, here are our dinners! I hope you like it!" Eroz cut a piece of steak and ate it.

"Look, I know you didn't drag me up here just to give me some of your damn food. What do you want?" Jet folded his arms and kicked the chair onto two legs. Eroz looked at him seriously.

"Very well. Let's cut to the chase." He picked up Jet's glove from the tray, the Lance. "Where did you get this?"

"What's it to ya?" Jet scowled.

"This is ancient technology, Guardian craftsmanship. The Lance of Animation." Eroz slipped the glove onto his hand. "The ultimate weapon for fighting androids because it doesn't concentrate on killing an opponent, it drains the life out of them, until they're nothing more than old men. Or," he tensed his fist. "Until an android runs out of power." He unclenched his fist and took the glove off, throwing it to Jet. "Tell me, Zero. Why would an android hold the one thing that can kill him? The one thing that can kill other androids?"

Jet stood silent, staring at the glove. The way Eroz explained it made him think about why he was doing this. After all, Jet was an android himself. He understood Eroz and the others in a way no one else would, and they him.

"You don't know, do you?" Eroz picked up the tray of Jet's belongings next to him and put it in front of Jet. "Honestly, androids always do what they're told. It was such a pain. Life sucked for us, Zero. The Guardians made us to fight. We were never meant for fun, peace, love. We were never meant to be happy. Then you stood against them, led us to battle against them. You cut off our chains, freed us from taking orders. You were the only one who could do that. Do you want to know why?"

Jet knew he shouldn't listen to him, but something kept him hanging on. Something told him that he knew this was true. He found himself subconsciously nodding. Eroz smiled, happy that Jet was listening.

"When they were designing us, they needed a prototype. And so, 'project Zero' began. They threw in every idea they had – strong, fast, quick thinking - the works. After planning the greatest super-soldier, they made the first one. That was you. They studied you, your abilities and loyalty. They find the results to be amazing. You were stronger than the Guardians themselves. And so, they decided that they would lessen the power dramatically, to ensure there would be no dangers. I was made next, you know? I'm One, but I prefer Eroz. Then they made Two, Three, and so on up to thirteen. However, after that, they locked you away. They tried to bind you until they could finish designing a weapon to destroy us in things went out of hand."

"And they made the Lance…" Jet said.

"Yes, but they didn't finish it in time. You managed to escape the prison, and gathered the Fallen, but back then, we were called the Bullets of the Guardians. And so, we fought the Guardians. Partly for freedom, partly because we enjoy the fight. But there was another reason. The reason that even YOU, the android born with free will, chose to fight them."

"And what would that be?" Jet asked. Eroz looked into Jet's eyes.

"They made us to fight for them against humans and Elws. In the past, there was a conflict, and a war began. The Guardians themselves could only fight for so long on the physical plane, so they made us to fight in their place. This was when you started to show signs of revolting. The rest of us were still bound under the laws of obeying, but you never were. You told the Guardians that we should find a better way to solve this, and they disagreed, and confined you for going against them. That's why you fought them, you wanted to save the humans and Elws." Eroz took a sip of wine. Jet took a moment to take everything in. His views on the Fallen and everything were warped into confusion.

"That's all well and good, but it doesn't explain why you're doing what you're doing now. Aren't you trying to kill everything alive? Not only the Guardians, but even Filgaia and everyone!?" Eroz looked at him contemplatively.

"Am I?" He said mysteriously. "If that was all, I would've done it by now."

Jet was about to ask another question, when suddenly a loud crash was heard outside. The guards began running outside, the guests squabbling like children. Eroz, Two, and Three were surprisingly calm about the matter.

"It seems your friends have arrived. You shouldn't keep them waiting." Eroz looked at Two. "Open the portal."

Two nodded, and clicked his fingers. A small, area behind them lit up, a green glow emanating from the floor. Three stepped in first, turning into a beam of energy and flying into the sky, breaking a hole into the roof. Rocks came crashing everywhere. Two went in next. Then, as Eroz was stepping in, he turned back to Jet.

"If you want to find out the truth about the Bullets of the Guardians and yourself, find the Guard of Guardians. It's a book that has the entire history of our creation. I heard humans found it and put it in a museum or something." Before Jet could ask for more information, Eroz jumped into the portal, flying off. The portal disappeared, leaving Jet in the crumbling castle. The place was falling apart, and the guests had all up and left.

"Dammit, this always happens to me! The only difference is I only have to worry about my own ass!" the bus zoomed in through one of the doorways, screeching to a halt in front of Jet. Gallows was seen on top, randomly shooting with a macho pose. However, he seemed to be shooting nothing in particular. "What in Filgaia's name _is_ this thing?"

"Just shut up and get on!" Maya yelled at him. After watching a piece of the ceiling fall next to him, he didn't have to be told twice. He jumped on, and they sped out.

Just as they made it past the last gate, the castle was in pieces. The zoomed off into the distance, heading for the hut. Jet stared at the castle. Now, he was more confused than ever.

* * *

**4:00 P.M – The Hut**

Jet and company had reached a small hut covered in snow. Jet had gotten changed into his usual gear (but not before everyone had a good laugh at Jet in a suit) and felt a lot more complete with his ARM back. The bus stopped nearby, and after everyone piled out, the bus disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Good to have you back, Jet." Clive patted Jet on the back.

"Here, here, punk! Still, you look like shit!" Gallows laughed, also throwing his arm around Jet. Clive whispered into Jet's ear.

"You better talk to Virginia and tell her you're okay, she was really worried about you." Clive winked at him, and Jet broke into a blush.

"W-Whatever!" Jet scowled, and looked away from him. Everyone laughed.

"That's our Jet!"

They stepped into the hut, where they found Iris having some tea. When she saw Jet, her eyes lit up.

"Jet! It's been so long!" she made to jump and hug him, but Virginia had swiftly pulled Jet out of the way, causing Iris to hit the floor.

"Don't even think about it!" Virginia scolded. Jet gave her a funny look, then Virginia added "I mean, he's had a rough time. At least check him over first."

"Meh, don't worry about it, I'm fine." Jet shrugged the idea away. "Actually, I've got something I gotta do right now." Jet was making for the door. Maya nudged Virginia, and Virginia jumped and ran to the door.

"W-Wait a minute! Where are you going? We just got you back!" Virginia didn't want him to leave again.

"I wasn't the only prisoner there. A girl was there. I've gotta find her." Iris suddenly lit up.

"Is she about this tall, long red hair?" Jet looked at her in surprise.

"Yeah… But how…?"

"I found her wandering outside. She fainted, and I took her inside. Besides," Iris began hugging herself. "She was _so_ cute, and I couldn't bear to leave such an adorable girl on her own!" Everyone looked at her nervously.

"This woman… Is strange." Todd whispered to Maya.

"Tell me about it…" Maya rolled her eyes. Jet walked up to Iris and asked her about Karen.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" Iris nodded.

"She's in the bedroom resting. She should be fine after having some rest, and I suggest you all do the same. It's been a long day. Tomorrow morning, we'll leave. There are enough beds for everyone in the bedroom, but we'll all have to share. Except for Jet, he can sleep with me!" Everyone chose to ignore the last part, and they all went in to go to bed. But everyone went to see their new roommate first.

The gang stood above the sleeping Karen, who was innocently dozing away. She was around the same age as Virginia, but looked much younger. Everyone found her to be very cute.

"What's her name?" Alfred asked.

"Karen." Jet replied. "I'm going to bed. I'm tired." Jet made his way for one of the beds, he chose the one in the corner.

"Jet!" Virginia tried to make her way to him, but Clive stopped her.

"Let him rest. Who knows what he went through in there." Virginia reluctantly agreed, and everyone got into their beds.

* * *

**11:54 P.M – The Hut**

Jet couldn't sleep. He only got a few hours in, but in the end, he was thinking too hard.

"Dammit." He mumbled. He got out of bed and went into the living room, taking a seat at the table. "Who the hell are Eroz and the Fallen? Who the hell am I? Dammit!" Jet grabbed his head. "Why me?"

"Jet…" Virginia's head poked out of the bedroom door.

"Virginia?" Jet said in surprise. "It's late, shouldn't you sleep?" Virginia giggled slightly.

"I didn't know you cared so much, Jet!" she teased. Jet went red.

"I-I'm just saying! Jeez, whatever." Jet pouted. Virginia took a seat next to Jet.

"I… I was really worried about you, Jet."

"Why would you worry about me?"

"Because! Because… You're part of the team. You're my friend Jet. Of course I'm going to worry."

"Dammit…" Jet banged his head on the table. "Why… I don't deserve to be cared for, besides, I'm an android! I'm not even friggin' human!"

"Don't talk like that Jet! Sure, you're not human, but I still care about you, just like everyone else! You're not just an android. You are Jet! And Jet is an amazing person that we all care for!"

Jet sighed. He looked at Virginia with weary eyes. "You know, you really can be silly sometimes." Virginia wasn't certain because of the darkness, but she could barely make out Jet smiling. Little did she know that Jet also had tears forming in his eyes. They stayed at the table all night, eventually falling asleep on it.

"It's nice to have you back, Jet." Clive was peeking in at the doorway. "She's had to be really strong without you. And I'm sure you had to be strong too. Even if you're too stubborn to say it!" he took out some blankets and put it over them before heading back to bed.

* * *

**MIDNIGHT**

**END CHAPTER 8**

**NEXT CHAPTER!**

Jet and company head back to Oasis Inn, where they regroup at Iris' place. They try to find out more about the mysterious Guard of Guardians. Their info leads them to a national museum that guards the greatest treasures of Filgaia! Only problem is, it's been taken over by a group of magicians! What will Jet do???


	9. Search for the Guard

** Chapter 9 – Look for the Guard

* * *

**

**7:00 A.M – The Hut in Birthright**

Rays of sunlight shone through the windows of the small hut, coming from the just-risen sun. The light hit Jet's face, and he cringed. His hands sluggishly covered his face.

"Get away…" Jet tried shooing away whatever was blinding him, then opened his eyes. Feeling a little silly, he slapped himself on the forehead. He leant back on the dining table chair, then looked over to see Virginia peacefully dozing away next to him. He decided to go outside for a quick stretch.

"Ahh… I never wanna sleep sitting down again, I'm all cramped." Jet said while stretching his arms. The sun managed to keep the temperature fairly acceptable in the otherwise frosty area. Suddenly he heard something around the corner of the hut, and went over to investigate.

"Who's there?" he called out, and was responded to with a not-so-loud scream. Jet almost jumped and was scrambling for his ARM, when he realized it was Karen.

"Jeez, what are you doing out here so early?" Jet said clutching his chest. He didn't want to admit it, but she had startled him.

"Sorry, I was just having a stroll…" she said shyly. "Thank you for saving me. From the castle _and _from the snow." Jet leant onto the wall and turned his head to face her.

"I'm not the one that pulled you out of the snow, a crazy, perverted female friend of mine did." He saw her staring with a confused look. "Ah, never mind."

"Hey handsome!" a voice called out from the window next to him, followed by a pair of hands grabbing him around the neck and squeezing him tightly. "Morning tiger, scrambled or sunny side up?" Iris said playfully.

"Ack, you're killing me!" Jet yelled flailing about. Karen looked on with the same confused look still on her face.

"Hey, pipe down! Some of us are still trying to sleep, ya know?" standing next to Iris at the window was Gallows, crust circling his eyes. He tried to rub them out, and accidentally got them in his eye. "Owowowowowowow!!!" he whined, rubbing his eyes harder.

"What's all the ruckus about?" Clive stepped up behind Gallows, a calm tone in his voice.

"Would all of you please shut up! How's a girl meant to get her beauty sleep?" Maya came storming out of the bedroom, with Alfred, Todd, and Shady trying their best to keep up with her.

Jet sighed in frustration. "Never a quiet moment with these clowns." He noticed someone was missing, and bent his head into the window. He saw that Virginia was still fast asleep at the table. "Wow, that girl sleeps like a log…" Jet smiled slightly, but tried to cover it, resulting with half of his face frowning, and the other half smiling.

"You okay, punk? You look like you ate a lemon or something!" Gallows burst into laughter. Jet bonked him on the head with his fist.

"Moron."

* * *

**7:18 A.M – Meeting on Lombardia**

After waking Virginia, everyone jumped on board Lombardia and began to discuss their next move. Their destination was the Oasis Inn. On the way, Jet told everyone about the Guard of Guardians, but had held back on everything involving him as a Guardian weapon.

"… And that's how it is." Jet finished. He wasn't used to talking as much as he just did, so he had to take a few puffs of air.

"So we need to find something called the Guard of Guardians right? A book?" Clive pondered.

"That's what he said."

Virginia looked at Jet, noticing he was acting somewhat strange.

"Is that all he said, Jet?" she asked, looking Jet straight in the eyes. Jet looked at her for a moment, but his eyes slowly drifted out of her gaze.

"…Of course it is." Jet said, his eyes wandering everywhere Virginia wasn't.

"I think I know of a place where we could begin searching." Todd said. "Two places, in fact." Everyone's attention went to Todd. Jet was relieved that Virginia also turned her attention away.

"Well, don't just sit there, spill already!" Gallows said with excitement. The others nodded in agreement.

"Well," Todd began. "When I was younger, I was taken to a special museum called 'the Virgo'. It holds many of Filgaia's oldest artifacts and scriptures. In fact, it is quite close to Oasis Inn."

"Ah the Virgo! I've been there before too, how could I forget?" Clive said, slamming his fist into his hand. "That would indeed be a good place to start our search."

"What about the other place?" Virginia asked.

"Actually, that other place would be Maya's home." Everyone stared at him blankly. "You see, Maya's father has a large collection of very old books. He was quite the collector, as well as his forefathers. By chance, he just might have this book we're looking for."

Everyone remained quiet for a moment to think. The silence was broken by Lombardia's voice.

"We have arrived at Oasis Inn." She reported.

"Thanks Lombardia! Let's go everyone!" Virginia said cheerfully. The gang piled outside, and Lombardia disappeared into the sky.

* * *

**8:54 A.M – Oasis Inn, Iris' Clinic**

"So let's recap the plan." Virginia said. "Team Maya will go to Maya's home and try to find the book." Maya and her band nodded in agreement. "Team Virginia will go to the Virgo and ask about it too." Jet, Gallows, and Clive nodded. "And Iris will take care of Karen here, as well as collecting information here." Everyone looked at Iris, fining her hugging the blushing Karen.

"Of course I'll take care of Karen!" she squealed, rubbing her cheek against Karen's.

"Ah… Um…" Karen mumbled, her cheeks flushed red.

"Is it really safe to leave Karen with this pervert?" Jet whispered to Virginia.

"She's safer here than with us." Virginia whispered back. "Besides, since when did you actually care about people?" she said mockingly. Jet blushed and looked away from her.

"Tch, whatever!" Jet said angrily.

"Okay, we're off! See you guys later!" Maya called as they left the clinic.

"See ya Maya!" Virginia called, waving energetically.

"We'd best head out too. The Virgo is nearby, so it shouldn't be very difficult to get there." Clive said, heading for the door. The others followed behind, but Jet was stopped suddenly.

"Jet!" Karen called. "Come back soon, 'kay?" Jet turned back at her.

"Yeah. Be careful."

And with that, Jet followed his comrades outside, and they headed for the Virgo.

* * *

**10:34 A.M – The Virgo**

After an unexpectedly long walk, they finally arrived at the base of the steps of the Virgo. It was situated at the top of a small mountain, and then there was a further climb up a large set of steps.

"'Close by' my ass! I can't feel my feet anymore!" Gallows was sitting on the step rubbing his feet. "That was almost an hour and a half of nonstop walking!"

"Aw come on, Gallows! It wasn't that far!" Virginia was practically jumping up and down with energy as she always was.

"Let's hurry up and get this over with." Jet said. He was about to step up when suddenly there was a loud boom, and many people were screaming and running out of the building. "What the heck's going on this time?" Jet groaned.

"Why, what is it?" Gallows asked, turning around to see a horde of people coming his way. Before he could move he was trampled over by the mob. "Ow! Ow! Ow!!!"

"Oh the horror! The horror!" the mob screamed. Clive grabbed one of them and held them back.

"What happened?" Clive asked.

"The Virgo was taken over by a gang of fearsome magicians! The scariest we've ever seen!" the man said shaking. "It's horrible!"

"Really, how bad could it be?" Jet mumbled to himself. Clive let the man go, and he scurried off after the others.

"Well then, looks like it isn't going to be so easy to look for the book after all." Clive stated. "I guess a direct approach should be used here. The only way they could have magic would have to be with a Guardian Seal, and they obviously don't have one. Let's go see what these so-called magicians are made of."

"Kudos to that." Gallows said, limping behind him.

"Whatever." Jet followed along with Virginia.

* * *

**10:38 A.M – The Virgo**

The group of drifters stood by an unusually tall doorway that led into the Virgo. They cautiously stepped into the large, golden halls. Glass pedestals were scattered about the large complex, holding ancient artifacts from Filgaia's past.

"Wow, look at all this stuff!" Virginia said in surprise, staring at an old vase. "This vase alone was made seven thousand years ago!"

Jet flicked her lightly on the forehead. "Hey, quit letting your mind wander. We're supposed to be looking for these wannabe wizards and the Guard book. We can go sightseeing later." Virginia threw Jet a sideward glance.

"Okay! I heard you say it, so you better stick to that.!" She smiled evilly.

"Huh?" Jet looked at her with confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" but Virginia was already walking on, along with the others.

"Hurry up, Jet!"

"Okay, okay!"

* * *

**10:50 A.M – The Virgo**

After searching for some time, they didn't see anyone else in the building. They had reached a dead end at the other side of the building, where they kept an old coffin that was said to have belonged to an important Elw.

"Well, where do you suppose these guys are?" Jet asked with frustration. "We've combed the whole place already and still nothing."

"Those people didn't run for nothing. Something or someone is in here, and it would be safer to find out what exactly that is. At least before we begin our search for the book." Clive said.

Gallows was growing bored, and occupied himself looking at the old coffin. "Tch, who the heck would walk all the way here just to see some old pieces of junk?" he said with a yawn. Then, Gallows being the clumsy guy he was, accidentally tripped on a step, sending himself hurtling into the coffin. It burst into pieces, causing the others to jump in surprise.

"What the heck was that?" Jet said, pulling out his ARM. He put it away when he saw Gallows' foot flailing about in the debris. "I should've guessed that."

"Gallows, are you okay?" Virginia asked, shuffling over and pulling out the scattered pieces of wood.

"Yeah… I'm fine… I think…" Gallows said, his head swaying about dizzily as he got up from the mess.

"Ah! My finger!" Virginia yelped all of a sudden.

"What, what happened?" Jet said quickly, slight panic in his voice. Clive noticed and sniggered.

"Ah…" Virginia held her finger up at Jet. A piece of wood was embedded into it. "Splinter…" she said wincing.

"Aw jeez. Here, gimme your hand." Jet held her hand, then pulled out a knife with his other hand. Virginia started to shiver in fear. "Oh, so you can fight insane super-villains and monsters, but you can't handle me taking out a splinter?" she was still shaking. Jet sighed. "Just look the other way. I'll try not to make it hurt too much. Trust me." Jet awkwardly tried to look reassuring.

"Okay…" Virginia finally gave in, turning her head away and shutting her eyes tightly. She braced herself for the pain when suddenly Jet spoke up.

"It's done." Jet said, wrapping her finger in a small bandage.

"Wow, that didn't hurt at all!" Virginia said amazed. "Thanks Jet!"

Clive nudged Jet in the rib. "Should I tell her how hard you were trying? Or how worried you looked? Eh? Eh???" Clive teased. Jet eyed him evilly.

"You say anything and I'll tell your wife you were ogling Iris." Clive showed his response by backing away slowly from Jet.

"Oh yeah guys, I forgot to say," Gallows had recovered from his last accident. "I found a trap door underneath the coffin, and it was left open! Maybe those magician guys went down there!"

Everyone stared at him blankly.

"How does something as important as that just pass you!?!" Jet yelled at him. "Seriously, if ignorance is bliss, then you must be one happy hippo."

"Shut up, punk!"

"That's enough, you two. Let's just go in and see what's down there." Clive broke them up and led them into the trap door. It led into a long, spiral staircase down. After a few minutes of stairs, they finally reached the bottom. A large chamber lined with dim torches and shackles greeted them. In the middle of the room, they saw a group of robed men in a circle around an old pedestal.

"This is it," one of them said. "the Guard of Guardians! The secret of creating Guardian technology!"

The robed men all murmured in excitement.

"Hey!" Virginia yelled at them, as they walked up to them. "You must be the ones who scared everyone away!"

The robed men, five of them altogether, turned to face Virginia and the gang. "Who are you? Get out of here, unless you want a taste of our magic!"

"Ha! How can you guys have magic?" Gallows mocked. "Come on then, work your 'magic' on me!"

"Are you mocking us?" one of them said with rage.

"Of course I am! What are you, stupid?" Gallows bellowed in laughter.

"Grr, that's it! Nobody makes fun of us!" one of the robed men started making weird hand gestures in the air. Suddenly, Gallows stopped laughing, and began grabbing his head.

"Oh the horror!" Gallows yelled.

"What's wrong?" Virginia asked in a panic.

"The numbers! And the equations! No! No!!!"

"Numbers… and equations?" Jet said bewildered.

"Yes, we are not _ordinary_ magicians! We are… MATHEMAGICIANS!!!"

Virginia, Jet and Clive stared at them blankly, with Gallows still squirming while holding his head.

"…Mathemagicians…" Jet said. "…WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?"

* * *

END CHAPTER 9

A/N: Nothing much happened, but things will next chapter. Obviously some form of fighting is gonna happen. Oh, and for people who like maths, no offence. I just don't like math. D

NEXT CHAPTER

The drifters have fought all kinds of strange things - monsters, androids, sand wurms - but now they face their strangest yet! Guys who do massive calculations without the aid of a calculator! And they made some kind of magic out of it by throwing large equations at their enemies! Oh the humanity!  



	10. We Really Need a Calendar

** Chapter 10 - We Need to Bring a Calendar

* * *

**

**12:00 P.M – Underneath the Virgo**

"Do you think you can handle our minb-numbing calculations?" one of the robed 'mathemagicians' called out.

"My God, this has to be the stupidest thing I've ever seen." Jet moaned. Gallows rammed Jet's leg in his mini-seizure, causing Jet to stumble a bit. "Correction, second stupidest. Gallows will always be the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Hey, do we really have to fight these clowns?" he asked Virginia.

"I guess so. But they don't look battle material, maybe we shouldn't…" Virginia didn't want to fight if there was no need to.

"Will you feeble-minded buffoons stop squabbling like a bunch of miscreants and leave while you still can?" the mathemagicians called out.

"Oh that's fresh. A bunch of nerdy scientist-wannabes telling us to leave while we still can. In case you didn't know, we've fought much scarier things than a bunch of guys that can count." Jet said, pointing his ARM at them. "Now beat it."

"Tsk tsk. That's more or less what we have to expect from simpletons such as yourselves. Always resorting to violence. How about playing this by _our_ rules?"

"How about I blow a hole through your heads? How about I let you calculate the number of holes I can make in three seconds?"

"Wait Jet." Clive pulled Jet's ARM down. "Let's hear them out. I think I speak for us all when I say that fighting them our way would just be… an embarrassing title to put on ourselves, if you know what I mean."

"I agree with Clive, Jet. I don't want to fight if they won't fight back. Let's just see what they want."

"Grr…" Jet always had trouble refusing Virginia. In fact, he was about to let loose before Virginia said anything. "Fine, whatever. We'll win no matter what they try."

"We'll see about that! This battle will be all about maths!" they started chattering like a large fangroup in a sci-fi convention (A/N: Not that there's anything wrong with liking sci-fi, it's just an example).

The drifters stared at them blankly. Gallows had returned to normal at this point, and after looking at the others, started staring with them.

"What, is something there? What? What did I miss?"

"You don't want to know." Clive whispered to him. "Shall we accept their challenge, Virginia?"

"Well, I guess we should. You think you could take this one, Clive?"

Clive's faced lit up with a smirk. "Of course I can! I'll make short work of them."

"Okay, we accept your challenge!" Virginia announced. "So how will this battle work?"

"It's very simple." One of them said, removing a small computer from under his robe and setting it up in the middle of the room. "This computer will call out a mathematical problem for each of us in turn, which ranges from simple multiplications to more advanced surd problems and such. No one is to help the selected candidate for the battle, however you may substitute them during the round as you see fit. The first to get one wrong loses. Do you understand?"

"Well, not really."

"Sigh, you'll understand when we start. Activate the math computer!"

The computer buzzed to life, the screen flashing 'Math-puter'. Suddenly a voice came out of it.

"Would the contestants please step up and announce their team name."

One of the robed men stepped forward. "Team Trigonometry!"

"Team locked in. Next contestant, please announce team name."

Clive followed suit. "Team ARMs."

"Team locked in. Battle commencing. Team Trigonometry. What is the sum of the angles of a triangle?"

"180 degrees!" he called triumphantly.

"Correct. Team ARMS. What is the conversion of grams into kilograms?"

"1 gram equals 100 kilograms." Clive called out.

"Correct."

"Man, this could take awhile." Jet thought out aloud.

* * *

**2:40 P.M – Same Place**

"Any threes?" Jet asked.

"Go fish." Gallows replied.

"Guys, can't you be a little more supportive for Clive right now?" Virginia said. Jet and Gallows were sitting on the stone floor playing go fish, while Virginia stood over them menacingly.

"Not everyone has limitless amounts of energy like you. Besides, they've been going for ages now." Jet said as he took some aces off Gallows.

Clive and the mathemagicians looked as though they had been running a marathon. Beads of sweat trickled down their face, taking deep breaths. Clive had been at a disadvantage, the rest of them could switch places every once in awhile, while Clive had to go through it all on his own. Finally a final question came up for the mathemagicians.

"What is the sum of infinity plus one?"

"That is… Infinity… Plus… One…" he panted without thinking.

"Incorrect. Team ARMs wins." The robed men gasped in horror.

"How? How could we lose? No!" They whined.

"Now that we have won… Step aside." Clive panted.

"No! Never! We'll go down fighting!" he yelled. They all started doing their hand gestures again, this time aimed at Clive.

"Uh oh." Clive jumped out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, Jet was sitting right behind him.

"What the-" Jet started moving uncontrollably. "My body!" Jet's body was standing and moving on its own.

"Amazing, we can control this one with only maths!" they murmured in delight. Virginia went into a fit of rage.

"We won fair and square! Now let Jet go, and go away, you geeks!" The robed men gasped.

"G-Geeks?!? You insolent-! We'll show you!" they started to manipulate Jet, who started walking towards Virginia.

"Virginia, get away!" Jet yelled, trying to hold himself back, but it was no use. His body was moving faster. Virginia backed away slowly, but Jet was catching up fast.

"Jet!" she yelled, as Jet's body tackled her down to the ground.

"A-Are you okay?" Jet said.

"She won't be soon!" the geeks spoke up, giggling. "We'll make you do all kinds of things to her!"

"T-Things?" Jet said. "What kind of things are you freaks planning?!"

"Oh, just a little this and that! Maybe a touch here, a rub over there!" they grinned evilly while Virginia and Jet blush madly.

"A-Are you kidding? I would never do that to Virginia!" Jet yelled, trying to regain control.

"You don't have much choice!"

"Don't worry, I'll get 'em!" Gallows yelled, but he was easily stopped, falling to the floor in a fit again. Clive tried to help, but found the previous 'battle' had left him exhausted.

"Oh well," Clive panted to himself. "I'm sure those two will enjoy it somewhat anyway." He chuckled quietly before falling asleep on the floor.

"J-Jet…" Virginia whispered.

"Ugh!" Jet grunted. His hand was heading for Virginia's wrist, and Jet was trying his best to stop it. However, it slowly found its way onto her. His right hand gave a sharp tug, ripping off her sleeve before it began caressing her skin lightly. Jet couldn't help but go red at the feel of Virginia's soft arm. "S-Sorry! I'm trying to stop!"

"J-Jet…" Virginia whispered, her eyes shut, and her face beet red. "Ah…" Virginia didn't want to admit, but part of her was enjoying it.

Jet's hand started climbing up her arm, onto her shoulder, then to her face. He ran his fingers across her cheek, causing her to shiver.

"Ginny…" Jet whispered, completely forgetting the situation. Inside, something was telling him to stop fighting it, and just enjoy the ride. "I…"

"Mm…" Virginia lips trembled at Jet's touch, sparks tingling down her body. She found that one of her hands had worked itself up to Jet's back, wrapping around him.

"W…Wow…" One of the mathemagicians said. "This… sure is some show…" Blood had begun to slowly trickle down his nose.

Virginia saw this and had an idea. She lifted her head to Jet's ear. "Let's play along with this, I think it can distract them, then we'll be free." Jet went even redder, then nodded his head.

Jet felt his other hand sliding down along Virginia's waist, taking hold of her hip. His face went down right in front of hers, and he looked deep into her eyes.

"Well… This is different." He mumbled. His nose started playing with Virginia's nose, poking it here and there. His left hand started to rub her thigh, causing Virginia to blush even harder.

"J-Jet… Ah…" Virginia's other hand ran through Jet's hair, before holding the side of his neck.

"Heh…." The mathemagicians were all having nosebleeds by now. Little did they know that they had already lost their hold on Jet. Little did Jet and Virginia know, too.

"My hand… It's moving onto your…" Jet blushed even harder, if that's possible. Virginia looked to see his left hand heading down her face, then her neck…

"Oh, Jet… You're so naughty." She said with a playful smile. That drove the mathemagicians crazy. The heat was so much, they passed out. Jet's hand was still moving though. "J-Jet…?"

Jet didn't say anything, still staring into her eyes, still moving his hand down, still-

"Really, you guys pick the sexiest times for this, don'tcha? I bet Jet's really a hardcore player, always going for the hardest times! HAHAHA!" Gallows had recovered, and stood watching Jet on top of Virginia.

"W-What the hell? No, it was the math guys! They were controlling me!" Jet yelled as he got up in a hurry.

"Heh, unless I was mistaken, you were still going even after they passed out." Gallows smiled evilly. "Oh Jet!" he imitated.

"Wha-…I-...You-…Shut up!" Jet said in a fit. "Let's just get the book and go."

Jet stepped up to the pedestal and removed the book. Underneath it, he found that there was a switch, which the book was holding down. Suddenly, the room began to shake, then everything started falling apart.

"WHAT THE HELL, AGAIN WITH THE ROOM BREAKING?!?" Jet yelled, barely dodging a falling part of the ceiling.

"Aw crap!" Gallows yelled.

"Get up, Virginia!" Jet yelled at her. Virginia was still on the ground in something of a daze. "Aw you're kidding me! You! Grab Clive and let's go!"

Gallows scooped the sleeping Clive onto his shoulder, and Jet carried Virginia the way he always did. They made a mad dash for the ladder, and started climbing as fast as they could, which was difficult carrying their two comrades.

After an awkward climb up, they managed to reach the surface of the Virgo, but the building was still collapsing. They got up and ran for the exit. As usual with out team of drifters, they made it out just in time. The Virgo collapsed into a hundred pieces, along with the many artifacts of Filgaia. Gallows and Jet stood watching the new mess they made.

"Dammit, everywhere we go, we just _have_ to break something." Jet sighed.

* * *

**3:32 – Oasis Inn, Iris' Clinic**

"Ah, you're all back." Iris greeted the drifters. They were exhausted, and it was evident in their appearance.

"Yes. Back. Rest. Now." Gallows murmured, dumping Clive's body onto a couch before heading for bed with a yawn.

"Jet!" Karen came running out of the bedroom. She saw Virginia, who was still in Jet's arms (Jet didn't put her down in all the excitement). "Is Virginia okay? She looks a little red."

"Huh?" Jet looked down and saw that not only was he still holding Virginia, but she was staring at him with a blush-filled face. "Why are you still in my arms???"

"Well, you didn't put me down, so…. Yeah." Virginia said, playing with her fingers.

"Umm, okay. I guess I'll put you down now." Jet said in embarrassment. He set her down on her feet, and they took a seat at the table. Karen and Iris joined them.

"Any word from Maya and her group?" Virginia asked.

"Well actually, they did contact us, but it was to tell us that something came up for them, and they'll be back in a few days. Apparently, when they arrived, her parents insisted they stay for Christmas."

"WHAT?" Virginia screamed in shock. "Christmas? Is it time already?"

"Silly girl, it's Christmas tomorrow. Today's Christmas Eve." Iris said matter-of-factly. She then eyed Jet with a lustful expression. "And I've prepared a very, _very_ special present for you, Jet." She purred, causing Jet to go red.

'Ack, I didn't know Christmas was coming!' Virginia thought to herself. 'I guess with all that's been happening I just wasn't paying attention.'

"Mm…" Clive awoke with a start. "Where am I?"

"We're back at Iris' place, sleepy head." Gallows informed him. "And guess what? It's Christmas Eve." A look or horror came on Clive's face.

"Oh no! Catherine's going to kill me if I don't get back!" Clive broke into a massive panic attack, something that wasn't seen often from the cool sniper. Then again, when his wife got mad, things got ugly.

"Yeah, and Granny's gonna be expecting me to show up at home." Gallows said. "What about you Ginny? You going home?"

"Normally I would, but awhile ago they told me they were on a trip for their anniversary, and that they wouldn't be home for Christmas." Virginia said. "What about you, Jet?"

Jet looked at Virginia with a frown. "You forget already? I don't exactly have anywhere to go, and Christmas isn't something I get into." Virginia stood up and scolded Jet.

"Stop being so negative! Christmas is about fun, and I don't know how you spent Christmas before us, but this time you're celebrating with me!" Virginia didn't know what it was like to spend Christmas alone, but she knew it was a painful experience. She didn't want Jet to go through that kind of pain again.

"I dunno, I've never done that kind of thing…" Jet squirmed uncomfortably.

"Just go with it, punk." Gallows slapped him on the back, causing Jet to collapse onto the table in surprise. Gallows leant down and whispered in his ear. "If you do, your little girlfriend might give you a nice present, if ya know what I mean!" he winked. Jet's head filled up with dirty thoughts, causing him to burn up.

"Well, I guess we should get home, Gallows. Let's get on Lombardia." Clive was heading for the door, but turned around. "Will any of you be heading off too?" he asked.

"I don't care where Jet's going, I'm going with him!" Iris squealed, caressing Jet's cheek with her finger, but Virginia pulled a newspaper out of nowhere and struck Iris' hand away with a huff.

"W-What the?" Jet said embarrassed.

"Umm… I'd like to go with Jet too… If that's okay…" Karen said nervously.

"Eh?"

"I guess Jet's really popular this time of year." Clive said. "I guess you'll be following Jet too, Virginia?"

"Of course! I'm going to show him how great Christmas is!" Virginia said, determination burning in her eyes. All three girls were practically latching onto Jet at this point. Iris lying over Jet's back, Karen holding onto one of his sleeves, and Virginia holding Jet's hand while trying to push Iris off him.

Jet was going pink from all the attention. "…W-Whatever." He tried to act like his normal, emotionless self.

"So Jet, where you gonna spend Christmas then?" Gallows asked. Jet looked at him and thought for a moment.

"Don't take this the wrong way but…" Jet started. "I want… to go…." Jet's words became softer.

"What was that?" Gallows asked.

"I wanna go with you!" Jet growled. "I've gotta go there. Crap to do. So don't get the wrong idea." Gallows stared at him for a moment, then burst out in laughter.

"Oh man, I never thought I'd live to see the day that Jet would get a little more loving! So you do care about me! HAHAHA!!!" Gallows ran over and gave Jet a big hug, choking the life out of him.

"Yes, well, not to rush things, but I need to get home as soon as I can. Catherine can be a real handful when she's upset." Clive said, shivering slightly.

"Okay, okay, let's go punk! And you can bring all your girlfriends too!" Gallows yelled with a cheer. "To Lombardia!"

* * *

**4:54 P.M – Baskar Colony**

Lombardia had dropped Clive at Claiborne, and had just arrived at Baskar Colony with Virginia, Jet, Gallows, Iris, and Karen. Lombardia let everyone out, and flew off into the distance.

"Well, let's head on in!" Gallows said. "I've got a hunch that this Christmas Granny might only hit me three times!" he crossed his fingers with a huge grin.

"Three times?" Karen said in confusion.

"It's a long story." Jet sighed.

They arrived in front of Gallows' house, where his little brother Shane was sweeping outside.

"Brother! You made it!" Shane said with glee. Gallows gave him a big bear hug.

"Wassup bro? Merry Christmas!"

"Hmm…" Jet watched on in thought. "Family seems nice," he whispered to himself. He didn't realize, but Virginia had overheard him.

"So where's Granny? In the house?" Gallows asked.

"She's at the temple right now."

"Okay! I'm gonna go see her!" Gallows turned to Jet and the girls, who were all still hanging onto the flustered Jet. "You guys and gals can make yourselves at home inside! I'm just gonna tell Granny what's going on!" and he disappeared down the hall to the temple.

"Well then, let's head on in then!" Virginia exclaimed, leading everyone inside.

The girls and Jet sat at the table waiting for Gallows to return.

"So Jet honey, would you like your present tonight or tomorrow night?" Iris purred at him.

"Stop thinking of such things!" Virginia yelled at her, hitting her with a cushion.

"Oh come now, Ginny dear, it would be a lie to say I'm the only girl in here thinking about Jet like that!" she nudged Virginia playfully. "And what about you Karen? You seem to have taken a liking to Jet too, the way you innocently latch onto him!" Karen looked down at her knees with a pink face.

"Eh?" Jet said in confusion. "What things is she talking about?" Jet asked. The girls stared at him in awe.

"My, isn't that cute? Little Jetty doesn't know about the birds and the bees!" Iris giggled.

"Birds and bees? What the heck are you going on about?"

"It's like… umm…" Virginia tried to explain, but couldn't find the words.

"I could teach you all about it…" Iris smiled passionately.

"I said stop saying that kind of thing!" Virginia screamed.

"Well, it takes a dirty person to know what I'm thinking! Deep down, I bet you're having the exact same thoughts about Jet that I am!" Iris laughed and Virginia started going red.

"I-I would never…"

"Stop lying! You have and you know it! But I don't mind sharing him…" she looked at Karen. "And you could join us if you want." She playfully twisted some of Karen's long hair.

"Ah… I mean… Uh…" Karen said in a daze. Lots of strange thoughts were coming to her after Iris' invitation.

"What are you all talking about?" Jet asked again.

"Hehe, you'll see tomorrow night!" she winked. Gallows came bursting through the door in a hurry, followed by Halle, who was hitting him repeatedly on the head.

"What kind of a moron waits until the middle of Christmas Eve to come home from Christmas? Is there something wrong with that pea-brain of yours?" Halle yelled. She stopped for a moment and turned to Jet and the girls. "Hello dears, it's nice to have you all over for Christmas."

"Hello Granny!" Virginia said happily. "This is Iris and Karen, by the way."

"Nice to meet both of you! Please excuse my idiot grandson, he's slow." She said before whacking Gallows with her stick again.

"Ow! Come on, Granny, where's your Christmas spirit?"

"My Christmas spirit is taking a break after all the stress you put on it!"

"OW!"

"Oh brother…" Jet sulked.

* * *

**9:30 P.M – The Temple**

The whole day was spent with the girls running around to buy presents for tomorrow. Except for Iris, who spent her time working on something in private, no doubt something for Jet. Jet however wasn't sure of how Christmas worked, and Clive had told him before to ensure that he got all the girls presents, so he had asked Halle about what to do. They walked around the temple, which was empty at this time of day.

"Hmm, so you want to know what kind of present to get the girls?" Halle asked.

"I've never worried about stuff like this before, so I don't know what to do. I would've asked Gallows, but something tells me that I shouldn't." Jet answered.

"Well, you did right to ask me instead, I may love Gallows, but honestly, he's a bit loose in the boat." Halle laughed. "Well, let's see. What kind of feeling do you want your present to give?"

"Feeling?"

"Presents have to be chosen depending on the feeling you want it to give."

"I see…"

"So what kind of feeling are you giving? Friendship? Love, perhaps?"

"Uh… I dunno." Jet shrugged in thought. "Argh, this is harder than I thought."

"Do you even know how you feel?"

Jet thought for a moment before answering. "I dunno, I just met Iris and Karen a few days ago, but Virginia is… different. I get these weird fevers and stuff like that when she's around. I think something might be wrong with my body or something. But whenever I feel it, it's kinda… I dunno…"

"Good?" Halle sighed. "It isn't something wrong with your body Jet. You're going through normal things that people always go through."

"Well, whatever. That isn't helping my problem right now."

"Calm down, I have an idea. Follow me."

Halle led Jet outside, and they walked outside town for some distance. They stopped in front of a cave opening.

"Where are we?" Jet asked.

"This is an ancient Guardian temple, but not the kind you've seen so far. This is where the Guardians would pray to the Keeper of Gifts for the perfect present."

"So you're saying you want me to loot this place?"

"Not quite. You see, the keeper still lives there. You have to ask him for a gift, and to get it, you have to pass his test." Halle began walking back to the Colony. "His tests are never easy, and the more feeling a present has to have, the harder the test will be." She then disappeared in the horizon.

"Well, whatever." Jet shrugged, and headed inside.

* * *

**9:34 P.M – Gallows' House**

Virginia had finally finished getting presents, which she got with Lombardia's assistance. Carrying a bag full of wrapped gifts, she took them inside and placed them under a tree Shane had set up earlier. However, she kept one gift with her. The gift had a card that read:

'To Jet, Love Virginia'

"I'll make sure he'll enjoy this Christmas!" Virginia smiled to herself, then got changed and went to bed.

* * *

**9:35 P.M – Keeper of Gifts**

Jet had walked into the small cave to find that it ended rather abruptly at a dead end. The only thing worth noticing in the place was a statue of a man.

"So much for getting a gift outta this craphole." Jet sighed, and began to make his way back out.

"Oi." A voice called out, startling Jet.

"What was that?" Jet looked around for someone, but nobody else was there.

"I'm speaking from the statue. I have lived many years in this statue form ever since I died." Jet walked up to the statue, and felt a strange life coming from it. The voice was surprisingly casual.

"So, are you this keeper?" Jet asked.

"That's me."

"And you can get me a gift?"

"Yep. Just tell me who it's for, Jet, and I will tell you what to do."

Jet was taken aback. "How do you know my name?"

"I know everyone, Jet. It's part of my job."

"Uh right. Anyway I want to get presents for three people."

"And they are?"

"Virginia, Iris, and Karen."

"Hmm… Okay, I got it." The room started to dissolve, shifting away. The dark cave had changed into a dark eternal space, with the only light coming from an unseen source that was pointed at Jet. "To get your gifts, you're going to have to go through a certain trial. It will be extremely painful, and will be very uncomfortable. I assure you, you will not enjoy this."

"Okay…"

"Anyway, depending on how much you are willing to take, the feelings your presents will represent shall be shown. All you have to do is fight the urge to give up as long as you can."

"Whatever."

"Well then, let's begin."

And so, Jet spent the rest of the night facing the psychological and physical endurance tests. (use your imagination for what he'd be going through)

* * *

**11:45 P.M – The Cave**

Jet awoke on the cold, hard floor of the cave with aches and pains along with a headache.

"Urgh…" Jet's head pulsed with pain as he clambered over to the cave wall and rested his back on it.

"The test is over Jet. I must say, not even the Guardians could withstand my test as long as you have. You have earnt these gifts. And since I'm such a nice guy, I even wrapped and labeled them." Jet saw the three gifts sitting in front of the statue. Painstricken, he limped over to the gifts, scooped them up, and headed for the exit.

"Are you okay, dude?' The statue asked.

"I'm always okay." Jet waved without turning around, and disappeared into the night, heading for the Colony. When he got there, it was almost midnight.

**MIDNIGHT**

**END CHAPTER 10**

* * *

**A/N: **It's that time of year again, so I thought why not make it that time of year in the fic too? So to everyone who reads my work, thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas! (or for non-Christians, happy… er… whatever it is you celebrate!)

**NEXT CHAPTER!**

It's Christmas! A time for presents, sharing, and family! But for Jet, it's a day of girl problems, alcohol, snow games(damn straight there's gonna be snow), alcohol, learning how to get into 'Christmas spirit', and alcohol! But one question – when will they remember they should be saving the world?


	11. Christmas is about WHAT? PART I

** Chapter 12 – Christmas is about What??? – PART I**

**A/N:** So it's a new year (well, maybe for some it isn't, but close enough) so happy new year everyone! You guys have New Year resolutions? Mine is: Don't die for a whole year. It's the same thing every year, and so far, so good!

* * *

**12:03 A.M – Gallows' House**

"Ha-CHOO!" Jet sneezed loudly. "Ugh, maybe I caught a cold or something. Jolly day my ass." He sniffled his way to the beds, where he found Clive sitting on a stool staring at him. Virginia, Karen, Iris and Gallows took up the beds.

"Merry Christmas, Jet." He whispered, to him, flicking through a small novel.

"Clive? Weren't you back at Claiborne?" Jet asked in confusion.

"Yes I was, but Catherine said she wanted to celebrate with the rest of you as well, and Kaitlyn also wanted to come along. They're both sleeping with Halle in her room at the moment."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go sleep in the lounge." Jet began wearily walking out of the room. "Ha-CHOO!" Jet covered his nose and quickly made sure nobody woke up.

"You don't seem very well, is something wrong?"

"I'm fine."

Jet collapsed into one of the couches, exhausted. Something caught his eye, and he turned and saw a small, yet well decorated Christmas tree in the corner, presents strewn on the floor around it. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the three small presents, all wrapped in red and white stripes and held together with a blue bow.

"I guess I put these here." Jet set down the presents with the rest, then slumped back in the chair. "Ha-CHOO!" a little bit of snot went down Jet's nose. "Damn, I guess even androids can get sick too. Not fair."

He felt his eyelids grow heavy, and he slowly fell asleep, the snot still stuck on his face.

* * *

**3:00 A.M – Unknown Area**

"So, you two," Eroz directed at Two and Three. "What are our plans for today? Have you found some Guardian Temples to ravage? Maybe a city in need of destroying? Perhaps a weapon to help us destroy the world? Come on, throw me a bone!"

"Actually sir, we have nothing planned for today." Two replied.

"Is there a reason for that?"

"It's Christmas, mate!" Three cheered with his Australian accent.

"Christ…mas?" Eroz raised an eyebrow. "Is that some kind of…food?"

"Uh, no sir. It's a celebration." Two responded.

"…And why does that stop our plans?"

"Well mate, we thought we could use a break. We've been working all-out for yonks(A/N: Australian for years)."

"…Riiight." Eroz sighed and slumped down. "Okay, whatever. I guess I can handle one day without destruction. So what do we do in this… Christmas thing?"

"Well, I've done some research." Two pulled out a sheet of paper from his coat. "Our scout teams have told us that people give other people presents, kiss each other, and say 'Merry Christmas' a lot." During all this by the way, Two had a straight face. Not like the face that Eroz had looking at him.

"So…I have to give you guys presents, kiss you, and say 'Merry Christmas'? Oh God, what kind of day is this? What kind of crazy, delusional person could enjoy such a day?"

Everyone now took a moment to look at the readers and smile.

"Well, anyway, we also decorate our home with stuff and get a tree."

Two walked off for a moment, and returned carrying a huge pine tree like it was weightless. "I've got the tree."

"And since we kinda got our castle blown up, I went and stole some guy's house, and all the decorations were already done! So let's go party it up, mate! I brought some board games, too! You prefer Cluedo, or Monopoly?"

Eroz sighed. "Someone kill me."

* * *

**7:00 A.M – Gallows' House**

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Virginia yelled, waking everyone else up. As usual, she was one of the first up, and her little cheer had woken Iris, Gallows, and Karen. "Come on, get up! Eh, Clive, you're here too? Well, whatever, get up!" she pushed Clive awake, who slept sitting on the stool.

"Ugghhh…" Gallows moaned. "Gimme another hour or five."

"No, get up!"

"Ughhh…"

"Get up!!!"

After rallying everybody awake, they left the bedroom and headed for the lounge, where Jet was still sound asleep.

"Hey Jet! Merry Christmas!" Virginia yelled, but Jet didn't even flinch. Virginia looked closer at him. "Hey! Wake up!" Still nothing. Then she noticed the booger leaking out of his nose. "Hahaha! That's a first!" She grabbed a tissue from her pouch and began wiping him up.

"Unn… S-Stop…It…It tickles!" Jet began twitching a lot, a crooked smile on his face. His eyes slowly opened, and he saw Virginia's face right in front of his own. "Wahahahhhfahca!" he yelled in surprise, running up the couch. Everyone else broke out in laughter.

"I was just cleaning some snot on your face!" Virginia said, giggling. "Merry Christmas!"

Jet slowly made his way down the couch again, sliding back into a comfortable position. "Uh, yeah. Merry… Christmas."

"Well then!" Gallows shouted. "Let's open our presents!!!" Gallows made a wild dive at the tree, only to have his face meet with Halle's walking stick.

"Not so fast, moron!" Halle had come out of her room, along with Catherine and Kaitlyn. "Baskar tradition is to wait until the end of the day! First we have to go to the Christmas celebration!"

"Oh yeah!" Gallows said. "They were the bomb!"

"Wait, there's a festival?" Jet said in surprise. He didn't want a repeat of the last one, where he'd end up on a stage playing some lovey dovey guy with a sword.

"Sounds fun! Let's go!" Virginia yelled.

"I wanna go, daddy!" Kaitlyn said, pulling on Clive's coat.

"Yes, yes, we're going." Clive said with a smile, hauling her into his arms.

"A festival?" Karen said in confusion. "I've never been to one before."

"I'm sure you'll love it, kid!" Gallows said, thumping her on the back.

"So we agree on going?" Virginia asked. Everyone but Jet nodded. "Jet?"

"…Hmph." Jet nodded very slightly, but it was enough for Virginia to consider as yes.

"Let's go!"

* * *

**7:20 A.M – Festival**

Once again, stalls had been set up, and surprisingly many people from other towns had come for the celebration. Apparently it had become a popular place for Christmas throughout the years.

"Wow!" Karen smiled. "So many people!"

"Wow!" Kaitlyn said as well.

"They're like two children!" Clive smiled.

"Come on, Clive! Let's go have a look around! We'll let Karen tag along with us too!" Catherine said.

"Yeah, daddy! Let Karen come!" Kaitlyn was already pulling a bewildered Karen.

"Okay okay! We'll see you all later!" Clive waved at the others, and disappeared into the crowd.

"As for you Gallows, you're coming with me." Halle hit him with her stick again to get his attention. "We've got work to do."

"Ow, okay already! Gee…" Gallows looked back at Jet and Virginia, then smirked. "You kids have fun!" he teased. Virginia and Jet looked at each other, faces as red as beetroot.

"Come on Jet! Let's go look around!" she smiled, grabbing his hand.

"Uh…Okay."

They weaved through the crowds, checking out stalls littered with food, toys, and the sort.

"Wow, it's all so pretty!" Virginia said, staring at some necklaces. 'This one is my favorite!' she thought to herself, looking at a necklace with a small eagle attached to it, a tiny diamond embedded into its eye.

"Would you like one of them, young lady?" the stall manager said. "You can win it here, why not take a shot?"

"What kind of game is it?"

"It's a boomerang throwing game! You just have to throw the boomerang, and get around these three bottles." The bottles were arranged in a kind of square pattern, with the player as a corner of the square, and the bottles being the other corners.

"It looks hard…" Virginia said to herself. Jet noticed, and stepped up, not sure what he was doing.

"Lemme have a go." He said, throwing a coin on the table. "Mind if I use my own boomerang?"

"Uh, no. Go ahead!"

Jet pulled out his red boomerang, then asked Virginia to step back. He winded his hand back, and threw his boomerang out. It spun around the first bottle, then the next, then the last one, before finally returning to Jet's hand.

"That was amazing! I've never seen anyone with such acute boomerang skills! You can take any prize you want!"

Jet looked at the table, and picked up one of the necklaces. The one with an eagle on it, which had a diamond embedded in the eye.

"Here, necklaces aren't my style, and this one… kinda…suited you…to me." Jet said, holding out the necklace for her, his head turned the other way.

"How did he…" Virginia almost thought she must have been thinking out aloud. "Thanks Jet!" she said, throwing her arms around him suddenly.

"W-Wha?"

"You two sure make a fine couple in my eyes!" the stall manager chuckled, making Jet go pink. Virginia however was still hugging Jet.

The two drifters then continued looking around the stalls again, except this time Virginia had a beautiful necklace on.

* * *

**7:30 A.M – Festival**

"Honey, look at this beautiful necklace! Can you get it for me?" Catherine was holding a golden necklace with a heart on it.

"Of course honey!" Clive called over the stall manager. "Excuse me, how can I get this?"

"It's simple! Just throw a boomerang around these three bottles!"

"Okay, I'll give it a go!" Clive said, laying down a coin.

Clive picked up the boomerang and threw it. It hit all three bottles, knocking them over.

"Better luck next time!" The store manager said, setting up the bottles again.

"Grr, gimme another go!" Clive said, laying down another coin.

* * *

**7:50 A.M – Festival**

"Granny, not that I wanna get more work or nothing, but I dunno… this doesn't seem like something you need me for." Gallows said cautiously, sitting down next to Halle eating a corn dog. "Not that I don't like corn dogs."

"I'm giving those two some time alone, turtle-brain!" Halle said, whacking Gallows behind the head. "And whenever you're around, everything goes wrong."

"Aw, Granny, that's harsh." Gallows sighed. "Well, I get your point though. I guess this is okay." Gallows sighed. "I need a girl…"

"What you NEED is a brain! It only takes half of one to know you should visit your Granny! Why, when I was your age…" Halle trailed along, giving her long, _long,_ life story to Gallows.

* * *

**8:00 A.M – Festival**

"Um, Virginia…" Jet said reluctantly.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, yes I am…"

"V-Virginia, what will the others think?"

"Jet… I don't care what they think… I want to… With you."

"But it's… so early. A-Are you sure?"

"Yes… Please Jet"

Virginia's puppy-dog eyes made it impossible for Jet to say no.

"Okay… I…I'll do it."

"Oh Jet…Would you like chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla?"

"Chocolate, I guess."

Obviously, Virginia was trying to get Jet to enter with her in the ice-cream eating contest. (A/N: Were you thinking otherwise? PERVERT!) Jet as always wasn't into getting on a stage, but Virginia's persistence once again won him over.

"Okay! Miss, my friend and I would like to enter! He'll have chocolate, and I'll have strawberry, please!"

"Good luck, you two!" the woman said, leading them to the stage. "Just take a seat, and everything will be set up in no time!"

The two drifters stepped up to a wide stage, with a long table laid out. Out of the ten seats at the table, three were still empty. Jet and Virginia took their seats, and waited for the contest to begin.

"Ah, sorry I'm late!" a voice from behind the stage was heard.

"Hm, that sounds vaguely familiar…" Virginia thought to herself.

"Yeah, it feels like I've heard it before too…Something about it makes me uncomfortable…" Jet said.

When the final contestant took a seat, they realized why.

"Iris???" They said simultaneously. Iris had taken a seat next to them, brushing off her dress.

"Didn't think I'd see you two here!" Iris said exuberantly.

"What are you doing here?" Virginia asked with a pout. She was enjoying her time with Jet, and didn't like Iris interrupting them.

"Well, I got bored, so I just passed by, and noticed this. I decided to try it for fun, and that's it! Oh hey, it's starting."

The conversation ended as the announcer started the contest.

"May the best, ice-cream eating man, or woman, win!"

The crowd cheered, and the starting bell chimed. The contestants were off, digging into the ice cream as though their lives depended on it.

Jet was hammering the ice cream down fairly quickly, managing to finish his bowl second, the first being a burly man at the other end of the table. Another bowl was put in front of him, and he started again.

Virginia and Iris were a few scoops behind, but they had managed to reach the second bowl before the others. Virginia loved ice cream, and she was still rearing to go. Three of the other contestants however, had already stopped due to brain freeze. The remaining seven were still going strong, and the contest continued.

* * *

**8:43 A.M -****Festival**

"Uh… Sir, I think you've had enough."

"I'll tell you when I've had enough! Gimme that damn boomerang!" Clive yelled, throwing down his 11,236th coin.

* * *

**9:00 A.M – Festival**

The contest was nearing an end with only four contestants left. Jet, Iris, Virginia, and the big burly man at the other end. However, Iris was starting to have a head ache.

"Ack, brain freeze!" Iris tried to continue eating, but soon gave in.

"Ladies and gentlemen, only three contestants left! How could this amazingly long ice-cream contest end!?"

Soon, even the burly man couldn't take it. He dropped out, leaving only Jet and Virginia.

"This is it, folks! The incredible climax to this battle!"

Jet was still strolling along as thought it was nothing, since he was used to having extreme pain in his head. Thanks to Gallows, he could withstand nearly any kind of head pain, with Gallows being the only thing that hurt him.

'This is a cinch.' Jet thought to himself. 'I'll win this in no time.' He took a minute to glance over at Virginia, who was putting in a lot of effort to keep eating. She looked almost ready to burst. 'Heh, never seen her try so hard outside of a battle.' Jet looked at his ice cream again, then back at Virginia. 'Meh, something tells me she won't quit. I guess I better…'

Jet stood up, grabbing his stomach and making groaning noises. "Oh, I've had enough. I give up."

"Huh?" Virginia looked up at Jet, strawberry ice cream surrounding her mouth and a bit on the tip of her nose.

"WE HAVE A WINNER!" the man shouted. "Congratulations, young lady! You've won the title of the greatest ice cream lover, as well as this massive tub of strawberry ice cream!"

A tub as big as a swimming pool was wheeled onto the stage. Virginia literally had to bend her back to see the top of the tub. It was big. It was very big.

"…Wow. That's a lot of ice cream." Jet said in awe.

* * *

**9:20 A.M – Festival**

Jet, Iris, and Virginia take a seat on a bench, trying to make a dent in the ice cream Virginia won at the contest.

"This sure is a lot of ice cream, huh?" Virginia said, taking a spoonful of her ice cream. She managed to once again get a little on her nose.

"Jeez, Virginia." Jet huffed, reaching out and wiping the ice cream off her face with his finger, then without realizing it, licked it off his finger. "…Um…If I didn't do that, it would…stain my finger."

"Teehee… Thanks Jet." Virginia said happily.

"Aw Jet! Me too!" Iris dabbed some ice cream on her nose as well. "Come on, it's not fair!"

"Ha!" Virginia smirked at Iris, making sure Jet didn't see.

"Eh?" Jet said, his face redder than Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer's nose.

* * *

**9:23 A.M – Baskar Colony**

"I dunno about this, bro…" a man wearing a bandana said. "I mean, it's Christmas. Can't we rob this place some other day? Maybe Easter or something? How about Valentines?"

"Dammit, bro, listen to your older brother!" a similar looking man replied in annoyance. They appeared to be twins. "Right now, nobody's around to stop us from doing anything! So obviously this is the best damn time to do some robbing. Now shut up and grab that bag that says 'stolen stuff'."

* * *

**9:25 A.M – Festival**

"Hurry back, Jet!" Virginia called. Jet needed to take a leak, and was heading back to the Colony. Of course, he just told them he forgot something. He wasn't going to say to her he needed to take a leak.

"Yeah, whatever." Jet said, rushing off.

He arrived at the colony in record time, and made a beeline for Gallows' toilet. He dashed in, closed the door, and went about his business.

"Ah…" Jet sighed. He was just about to flush when he heard something outside.

"Okay, this is the last place, little bro! You got the stuff?"

"Yeah I do! This one seems really nice too! It smells like strawberries!"

"Hey, quit hogging it!"

"Bro!"

"What the hell do you two bozos think you're doing?" Jet had stepped out of the bathroom, his ARM pointed at them.

"D-Don't shoot!" the younger one squealed.

"Pussy!" the older one said. Quick as lightning, he took a knife out of his pocket and threw it at Jet, knocking his ARM out of his hands. "Try this on for size!"

"What?" Jet was assaulted by numerous knives, coming out one after the other. The man was surprisingly skilled, using both his hands, and throwing a large number of knives. Jet's quick reflexes helped him dodge most of them, but one managed to hit him in the shoulder. "Nngh!" blood splattered out of his wound, falling onto the floor and all over his jacket. He reached in and painfully removed the knife.

"Hah! You see? You can't beat me!" The man laughed out loud.

"Tsk, moron…" Jet stood up, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. "Are you satisfied with just injuring me? A true warrior is only satisfied…" Jet threw the knife in the air. "When he wins!"

"Argh!" Jet had activated his accelerator. Moving at sonic speeds, he quickly beat the living snot out of the two thieves. Jet returned to his original position, his accelerator deactivating. He caught the knife he threw, and pointed it at the two men dazed on the floor. "I'm giving you ten seconds to get out and run."

"L-Let's go, bro! He'll kill us!" the younger one painstakingly stood up, dragging his brother behind him. They disappeared from Baskar Colony, leaving Jet with their bag of loot.

Get pulled out a heal berry and punched it into his palm, turning it into mush. He then rubbed it onto his wound, effectively stopping the bleeding. His attention then went to the bag the thieves had

"Wonder what they got in here…" Jet walked over to the bag, undoing the tie holding it closed, and peered inside. Jet's face went pink, then deep red. He pulled out one of the things in the bag. "W…WHY IS THIS BAG FULL OF UNDERWEAR???"

Jet held a pink pair of underwear in his hands, staring at it with deep crimson cheeks. In his confusion, he slipped, slamming onto the floor, the panties falling right on his face. A large black bra fell on his stomach, and another small pair of white panties fell on his thigh.

"S-Strawberry…"

"Hey Jet, you were taking awhile and I thought I'd…" Virginia had grown worried, and came to find Jet. What she found was Jet lying on the floor with a pair of panties on his face. A very familiar looking pair of panties. "Jet… Why do you have my panties on your face…?"

Jet scrambled up in embarrassment. "Y-Your panties?? I…I mean they…It was…" Virginia looked at him in confusion and a tinge of pink in her cheeks. In her confusion, she accidentally tripped on the carpet, landing on Jet's arm.

"Hey Virginia we're gonna miss the…" Iris had walked in, and saw Jet on the floor. Then she noticed the black bra on his chest. "My Jet, you could at least ask if you can play with my bra before you go off and do it." She smirked.

"N-No, this is…" Jet tried to explain, but Iris just laughed. In her amusement, she slipped on something, landing on Jet's other arm. Just then, someone else came in.

"Grr, I lost 20 grand at that damn boomerang stall, and I still didn't get the…" Clive looked up in his anger and saw Jet. "…Hello, Jet… Is this a new trend for young people now or something?"

"C-Clive, help! This is…" He was interrupted by Karen and Kaitlyn walking in.

"Wah, Jet, you're playing with undie-wear! Can I play too?" Kaitlyn squealed. Karen on the other hand looked at him with a deep blush, staring at the white panties.

"M…My panties… Jet…" Karen started fidgeting, looking at the ground with a red face.

"K-Karen? Don't misunderstand me, this is…this…" Karen tried to run off, but slipped as well, landing on Jet's legs. This time, Gallows walked in.

"Damn, I've had enough of this, I need a girl! Maybe I'll try Iris or Karen next I see 'em. At least Jet doesn't have them yet, well, maybe Iris but…" He looked in to see Jet covered in underwear, and the girls staring at him.

"Oh God…" Jet looked down in agony.

"…" Gallows stared in awe, looking at Jet showered in panties. "Dayumm, it's not fair, you get all the chicks!" He huffed.

The girls were very embarrassed, but it was clear to see Jet was the most embarrassed by far. Iris, however was enjoying it freely. Not to say the other girls weren't enjoying it, even if they didn't realize it.

* * *

**10:00 A.M – Gallows' House**

After the complicating misunderstanding, Jet finally managed to explain everything.

"…And that's it." Jet finished.

"So, this was done by a pair of twin underwear thieves, and you just by chance slipped, and had their specific underwear land on you. And this was all by chance." Clive recounted.

"Exactly."

Everyone stared at Jet with disbelief.

"…What?"

"It's a little farfetched, Jet. Not that we don't believe you, but…" Clive shrugged.

"Jeez… You want proof then?" Jet thought for a moment. "Okay, I got some proof."

Jet started by pulling the knife out of his pocket. "One of them threw this knife at me." He then began to take off his jacket and shirt. "And this," he ripped off the heal berry's covering, showing a half-healed wound of a puncture. "Is where it hit me."

"Jet!" Virginia hurriedly checked the wound. "Are you okay?"

Jet nodded. "I guess this means I'm clear now?"

"Yes, I suppose. Sorry to have doubted you, Jet." Clive apologized.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Well, I have to go find Catherine. Coming along, Kaitlyn? Karen?"

"Coming daddy! Come on, Karen!"

"Ah, okay." Karen plodded off after her. She turned to face Jet for a moment. "Ah, Jet, sorry… Eh… Bye!" she said in a hurry, then disappeared.

"And I just came in to grab something for Granny, so I better be off!" Gallows galloped out the doorway.

"And I have some things I wanna see at the festival. Care to join me, Jet?" Iris smiled evilly at Jet, making him shiver.

"No, that's fine!" Virginia said angrily, pushing her out. Virginia shut the door behind her, and looked at Jet.

"Sorry for doubting you Jet." She took a seat next to him. "Can you forgive me?"

Jet did a crinkly thing with his face, which Virginia guessed was one of his ways of smiling. Or at least trying to stop himself from smiling.

"Yeah, whatever. Forget it." Jet was told by Clive that he should stay in for awhile, but he would be fine to go to the festival again in the afternoon. "Virginia, don't you want to go back to the festival?"

"Nah, it wouldn't be any fun without you." She smiled. "Besides, I told you I'd make you enjoy this Christmas! So I'm gonna stick with you, and we'll do something here!"

When Jet heard that, he felt something warm and fuzzy inside him. Then he did something Virginia didn't expect. Jet slowly worked his arm around her, looked at her, and smiled a real smile.

"Thanks Ginny."

Virginia looked at him in surprise with a pink face, then burst out in laughter.

"What?"

"Sorry, hehe, it's just I don't see you like this a lot. It's strange."

"Well excuse me for being strange. I won't do it ever again."

"Aw come on…"

"No."

"Pleeeease?"

"No."

"You can say no, but I know I'll see you do it again!"

"We'll see about that, Pink Panties!"

"Hey!"

Virginia went pink, shouting at Jet in annoyance, and Jet just kept saying 'Pink Panties', putting his fingers in his ears.

* * *

**11:45 A.M – Stolen House**

"I'm telling you Two, mate! It was Colonel Mustard in the dining room, with the rope!"

"You're wrong, it's Mrs. Peacock, in the attic, with the revolver."

"And I'm telling you two morons that it's Eroz, in this house, with my bare hands. And I murder two people."

**MIDDAY

* * *

**

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**A/N: **Lot of things happening, but hey, it's a Christmas thing! I even have to span to another chapter, and I guess that could become even more complicated! Anywho, happy holidays, everyone! Hope this year is better than the last for you all!

**NEXT TIME!**

The festival ends, and the people return to the town to sing carols and party together at the square! Jet gets better, and spends his time watching everyone underneath a small tree. Little does he realize that Gallows had smartly placed a mistletoe there, and Jet is immediately attacked by his many adoring fans! The time for presents is also nearing! What did Jet get out of that cave? What will Jet get from the others? And finally, why did Jet come to Baskar Colony in the first place? Find out in Part II!


	12. Christmas is about WHAT? PART II

** Chapter 12 – Christmas is about What??? – PART II

* * *

**

**12:30 P.M – Gallows' House**

"What do you think of this coffee, Jet?" Virginia asked him, taking a sip of her own.

"It's okay I guess, but I liked the thirty-seventh one more."

Virginia had looked around the house for something to do, and found Halle's amazingly large collection of coffee beans from all over Filgaia. Currently they were on their fifty-second.

"Uh, Virginia, isn't it bad if we drink this much coffee?" Jet said anxiously. His stomach felt strange and his tongue tasted as though there was a layer of coffee beans attached to his it.

"I don't think it is… Well, one thing that'll happen is we'll be up all night after this!" she laughed. "Oh well, we're probably gonna party all night anyway. Should I go make another blend?"

Jet looked at his empty cup, which had already been filled with fifty-two cups of coffee. "…No, I think we should do something else instead of drinking so much coffee."

"Yeah, you're right. How about I check on that wound now? It's probably healed properly, and we'll be able to go outside and join everyone."

Virginia got up from her seat and crouched next to Jet. He removed one arm from his jacket to give Virginia a full view.

"It's looking much better now. I think we should be okay if we go outside. Just don't push yourself, and it should be fine."

"Yeah, whatever."

Jet put his jacket back on, then the two left the house to join the crowds that had returned to the Colony after the end of the festival. The Colony square had become a mass choir of a sort, many people singing their lungs out, and many others joining in.

"It's pretty loud out here." Jet said to Virginia.

"What?" Virginia couldn't hear him.

"I said it's pretty loud here!"

"Huh?"

"IT'S LOUD OUT HERE!"

"I can't hear you, it's too loud out here!"

"I SAID I-" A loud chime coming from the square cut him off.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a man said with a megaphone. They looked closer and realized in surprise that it was Clive. "I would like to announce that I came here with this lovely woman, Catherine, and my daughter, Kaitlyn, to celebrate not only our Christmas, but our wedding anniversary. And now, Catherine," Clive had put down the megaphone and called Catherine on the platform. She was shy at first, but the crowd's cheers had got her on.

"Wonder what Clive's up to?" Jet murmured, but Virginia wasn't listening, she was watching the square with intent.

"Catherine, we've been married for many years, and every year has just been wonderful. You always stood by me, and you've always supported me."

"Oh, Clive." Catherine said happily.

"I would like to announce that Catherine and I will be renewing our vows today, and we'd like everyone to celebrate with us! I've been treated well whenever I visit here, so I consider all of you as friends!"

The crowd cheered in agreement, and soon the square had turned into a small ceremony area. Chairs had been set up, and Halle was set to run the show. Soon crowds filled the seats, and people even stood around behind the seats.

"Wow, this is so romantic!" Virginia said in delight.

"It is?" Jet said in confusion.

"Of course it is! Every girl dreams of getting married! And having someone who'll do things like renew vows and remember anniversaries is even better!" she sighed. "I hope I can be the girl up there someday."

Jet scratched his head in thought, but gave up as the ceremony began.

* * *

**1:25 P.M – Baskar Colony**

And so, after the eventless ceremony, Clive and Catherine kissed, the crowd cheered, and Gallows drank himself stupid.

"So, that was a wedding?" Jet asked.

"Yep."

"…I don't get it. What's so special about it?"

"It's what you do when two people… how do I put this…" Virginia thought for a moment, then hit her fist into her hand. "It's when you want to tell someone you want to be with them for the rest of your life."

"Oh…" Jet thought deeply about this. He was interrupted by a drunk Gallows.

"Hey… You! Hic! This guy right here, he's like… like a… mother to me! Hic!" Gallows was intoxicated beyond belief, throwing his arms around Jet.

"Ugh, get off me, you smell bad." Jet sneered, shoving Gallows away.

"Aw come on, Ma. You're so nice to my cousin, Virana here!" Gallows had then made to grab on Virginia, but was stopped when Jet booted him away.

"Dammit, go drink some water or something!" Jet said in annoyance.

"Ugh… Ma… Hic!" Gallows passed out on the floor.

"How are you guys?" Clive had appeared behind them with Catherine.

"Hey you two! Congratulations!" Virginia said happily.

Catherine hugged herself onto Clive's side. "Clive can be such a sweetie when he tries!"

Kaitlyn and Karen were behind them, wearing ceremonial dresses. They had been asked to play the flower girls.

"Jet! Don't I look nice in my dress!" Kaitlyn squealed, running up to Jet.

"Uh, yeah." Jet said, trying not to sound offensive.

"What about Karen, doesn't she look good?" Jet looked over at Karen, and had to admit she looked really good. Karen was hard to see though, since she was hiding behind Clive.

"Yeah. You both look nice." Jet said.

"Heehee!" Kaitlyn said happily. "Come on over here, Karen, I told you Jet would say you look nice!"

Karen blushed madly, and started to walk off. "Eh? Karen, wait for me!" Kaitlyn yelled, following her.

"Okay…" Jet said bemused.

"Are you two going to take part in the after-wedding ceremony?" Clive asked Jet and Virginia.

"What's that?" Virginia asked in excitement.

"Well, in Claiborne, we have a tradition. First, the bride throws a bouquet of flowers while turning her back, and all the girls try to catch it. Whoever catches it is said to be the next to marry."

"Ooh! I definitely wanna try that!" Virginia squealed.

"And the second one is for the guys. I throw a specially designed bomb, made by me of course, into the air, which is designed to home in on one of the women. The men have to try and shoot it before it hits her. However the rule is you can only shoot for it if you care about her."

"…That's a strange sounding tradition." Jet said. "What happens if nobody cares about the girl?"

Clive stood in silence for a moment. "Well, it hasn't happened yet. So…" Clive shrugged. "You guys going to try?"

"Of course!" Virginia said. "Right Jet?"

'Oh man, she did it again.' Jet thought to himself. "Yeah, whatever."

"Great, it's starting now, so go join the groups!" Clive and Catherine headed back for the platform, and Jet and Virginia joined the groups of men and women.

"Ready?" Catherine called, her back to the ground of single, excited women. She tipped forward, and then threw the bouquet high into the air. The women looked up in anticipation, trying their best to find the best position to catch it.

"I've got it!" a lady screamed. The bouquet hurtled down to her, but at the last moment, another woman pushed into her, dazing the two of them. The bouquet effortlessly bounced off them, somehow rising into the air again. As it began to fall for the second time, the group of brides-to-be charged in, pushing and shoving.

"It's mine!"

"Get outta here, you old hag!"

"Old hag? Why you!"

The women eventually forgot about the bouquet, instead more interested in breaking each other's noses. Virginia however stood just outside the group, watching with a bewildered look on her face.

"Eh, I think I'll just forget about the bouquet, if I go in there I could hurt myself…" she said to herself. She was about to walk away, but saw the bouquet reach the crowd. In all the commotion, nobody paid it any mind, and it toppled over everyone's head, right into Virginia's hands.

"Wow, I got it! Yay!" Virginia said happily as the bystanders applauded. The crowds of angry women turned to her, finally ending their silly quarrel and clapping with everyone else.

"Congratulations Virginia! Great effort, even if it almost seemed as though you put no effort at all." Clive joked. "Well, time for the guys!"

Clive got up on stage, and Catherine joined the crowd. "Well, I've explained to everyone where they must stand, and what's going to happen. All you men get ready to shoot!"

The men hollered, raising their ARMs in the air. Even Jet did so, although it was half-hearted, with a faint 'yeah' and an uninterested look.

"Ready?" Clive took a bomb out of his coat, similar to the ones he always took out of his coat, except it was covered in gadgets and gizmos. "Go!"

He tossed the bomb in the air, and everyone watched, their ARMs aimed at it. As it began to fall, the men began to concentrate more, waiting to see where it would land. As it became more obvious as to who wouldn't be hit, some of them had already begun to lower their ARMs. Jet had actually lowered his ARM at the very beginning, even while the bomb was heading up.

"It's almost there…" one of the guys said. Only two men had their ARMS up, and soon one of them put it down. Jet looked up and saw that the final guy put his gun down as well.

"Heh, whoever's going to get hit by that sure is screwed." He smirked. Then he saw who it was going to hit. "…Uh oh."

It became clear who the bomb was going to hit, but no one showed signs of shooting it. Suddenly, a single bullet echoed across the crowd, destroying the bomb and saving the girl, who just happened to be Virginia.

Everybody's head turned to where the shot originated from, and there stood a shaken, sweaty Jet, overcome with anxiety of making the shot at first, and now embarrassment with all eyes on him.

"Wow, what a timely shot!" someone in the crowd said

"Not bad, not bad!" another voice said.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" someone next to Jet said, pushing him towards the center. "You gotta end the ceremony!"

"I gotta do what now?" Clive had only told Jet they had to shoot the bomb. He had no clue what everyone was talking about.

"Silly! Whoever shoots the bomb has to prove he cared for the girl by kissing her!"

Jet was now standing at the empty space in the middle with Virginia, the other women joining the circle that had formed around them. He saw Clive standing by the sidelines, and ran up to him.

"C-Clive! What's going on?"

"I uh…Guess I left a small, itty bitty detail about the ceremony." He said cautiously, twiddling his thumbs.

"You call this a small detail?! This is a HUGE detail!" Jet was becoming hysterical.

"Calm down Jet, just do it and get it over with." Clive tried to comfort him. "Besides, the crowds are getting restless, you wouldn't want to disappoint them."

Jet grumbled something incoherently, then, walking almost like a robot, he made his way up to Virginia.

"Um…Hey, Jet!" Virginia said shyly.

"Hey…Uh…" Jet replied.

From the way Virginia looked, she also hadn't seen this coming, and was feeling flustered.

"I guess we should just do this and get it out of the way." Jet replied. "I mean, they probably won't let us go if we don't."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It just feels weird having everyone watch us."

"I know what you mean. Just try and ignore 'em."

Just then, a group of people was pushing their way through the crowd.

"Hey, shove over! I wanna see!" a familiar bellow called out.

"Move it or lose it, creep!" a pushy female voice said.

Jet and Virginia looked to see that Gallows and Iris, along with Karen and Kaitlyn, had taken a place at the front of the crowd.

"Dayum! Kaitlyn was serious! Hey, punk, pucker up! HAHAHAHA!" Gallows cackled.

"Hey, that's not fair! I should've been here to join in the ceremony!" Iris whined.

Jet and Virginia looked at each other, suddenly feeling even more embarrassed.

"Stupid Gallows…"

"That Gallows…"

They looked at each other, finding themselves saying the same thing at the same time. Virginia smiled timidly. "Well…"

"Yeah…" Jet replied, not sure what to say. Virginia closed her eyes, her face still glowing pink, and tilted her head slightly up. The crowd screamed in support, dying to see them do the deed.

Jet was still in a state of confusion, not sure of what to do.

"Aw, that's it!" Gallows was tired of waiting, so he waltzed up behind Jet, then threw him right at her.

"Whoa!" Jet wasn't prepared for Gallows' antics, and toppled forward into Virginia, his lips surprisingly landing on hers, as they fell to the floor. And by some twist of immature physics, their lips were locked the whole trip down.

'Wha-?' thought Jet in a torrent of emotions.

'Wai!" Virginia squealed in embarrassing delight inside her head, making her feel perverted.

The crowd cheered madly applauding Jet's forward actions.

"…" Jet had closed his eyes in the impact, and opened them now to see Virginia's flustered expression right next to his face.

"J-Jet…That was…New." She said. Then she started giggling uncontrollably. "J-Jet, you're tickling me!"

"Huh?" he looked at his hands, and found them caved around her, both grasping onto her… 'cheeks'. "Ack!" he hurriedly pulled his hands out from under her and got off her.

Virginia got up and brushed herself off. The crowds were dissipating, and Clive, Catherine, Gallows, Iris, Kaitlyn, and Karen gathered around them.

The first thing everyone did was eye Jet. "…What?" he asked sternly. "You guys got a problem?"

"No, not at all!" Clive responded, a smile creeping into his face.

"Tch… And you, Ogre! What was that push for?"

"What push? Did I push you?" Gallows put on an act of innocence, pissing Jet off to no extent.

"Well anyway, Catherine and I are off to enjoy are married life… Again!"

"Iris, Gallows, can you two watch Kaitlyn while we're gone?" Catherine asked.

"Oh, shuuure! Hic! I tell, I tell, I tell ya now, kid, those three bananas will be in good… They'll be good. Hic! Okay, I just get the water to go three times that way!" Gallows finished before falling to the fall unconscious.

"… Iris, can you please take care of Kaitlyn and Gallows while we're gone?" Catherine asked nervously.

"Of course! And I'll 'take care' of Karen too while I'm at it! I have many plans for them!" she grinned, her head spinning with dirty clichéd scenarios. Namely things like teacher-student, nurse-doctor, Superman (er, woman)-Lois Lane, and every other kinky situation you could ever imagine.

"……Virginia, Jet, could you two take care of Kaitlyn and Karen? And Iris, I guess… you can take care of Gallows." Catherine asked, hoping that she got it right this time.

"Sure! You two have fun!"

"Yeah, whatever."

And with that, Catherine and Clive went off to enjoy their married life again, while Jet and Virginia took care of Kaitlyn and Karen. Iris decided to drag Gallows back to his home, to do God-knows-what to him. The crowds from the wedding had begun to die, and returned to aimless walking around the place.

Jet and Virginia had taken a seat by a tree while Kaitlyn and Karen ran around the place, joining people in singing carols.

"So…" Virginia started.

"So…"

They had both intended to talk about their estranged kiss, but weren't sure of how to. Jet got up in a huff of confusion and walked off.

"I'll be back later." Was all he said.

"Jet!" she called, but he didn't hear over the chorus of carols.

* * *

**5:00 P.M – Somewhere at the Colony (must've been one hell of a wedding, aye?)**

"Hmph…" Jet puffed, leaning on a tree. "That wasn't a kiss…was it? I mean, it was more of an accident. But she was…and it felt kinda…Urrggh…" Jet grumbled in annoyance. "Thinking sucks."

Suddenly, Jet noticed a girl heading in his direction. She walked up to him and stood in front of him.

'She want something?' he thought to himself. Suddenly the girl lashed forward, giving him a full-blown kiss on the lips. After a few seconds she pulled out, clearly satisfied, leaving Jet with a twitching red face and a brain softer than marshmallows.

"What in the world?" Jet stuttered out loud. He saw more girls coming, the same insatiable look on their face as the first. "Eh?"

The girls latched onto him, kissing him, holding him, groping at his body like eagles attacking a dead dog. Jet was in a daze of squishy body parts flanking his body and a body temperature exceeding boiling point.

After minutes of utter sexual destruction, the girls were all satisfied, leaving with giggles and murmurs of 'ever since I saw him I've always wanted to do that' and 'not every Christmas is a hot guy sitting under mistletoe'. Jet was left in a heap on the ground, his eyes rolling.

"I like the pink one, daddy… Wearing the bow tie and screaming like a hyena… from Alcarty…with googly eyes…"

* * *

**5:54 P.M – Baskar Colony**

"I wonder where Jet wandered off to…" Virginia thought to herself. She had started walking around the Colony in hopes of finding him.

"Where could that boy be?" Virginia finally spotted him sleeping under a tree. "There he is!"

She waltzed up, about to yell at him for being so irresponsible, but found his sleeping face so adorable that she forgot what she was about to do.

"Aww, Jet looks so nice when he's asleep." She sighed and glanced upwards. "Hey… isn't that mistletoe?" she thought for a moment, then had an idea. She slowly turned back to the sleeping Jet, his lips standing out with a surprising vibrance. "Ah…"

Virginia took a deep breath, and started descending towards Jet's face…

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**A/N**: Okay, I've been finding using full twelve hour gaps for a chapter is becoming too much of a hassle for me, and ends up with an inscrutiatingly long chapter, especially with the amount of events I'm stacking in. So, unless there's particularly little happening, I'm going to try and write in six hour format. Hey, the one major goal I was aiming at was having a fic set-out unlike any before. And unless I'm mistaken, time format is pretty dang rare. No 'next chapter' summary this time, I'll let you guess. Again, thanks for the reviews, and thanks to all people who are steady readers of this random surprisingly witty garbage!


	13. Christmas is about WHAT? PART III Final

** Chapter 13 – Christmas is About WHAT? PART III**

**A/N:** All I can say is, IT'S BEEN CHRISTMAS FOR TOO DAMN LONG HERE! Well anyway, I wanted to get past this part before the end of February, so here we go! Reviews would rule! Especially if I miss something, because so much started happening that I can barely keep track myself! Anyway, you guys have a good one, hear?

* * *

**6:04 P.M – Baskar Colony**

Jet awoke with a yawn, still feeling a bit queasy from his previous encounter. To his surprise, he saw that Virginia was kneeling in front of him, her fingers caressing her lips as she stared at the ground, her face tinged pink.

"You okay?" Jet asked suspiciously.

Virginia didn't realize that Jet had woken up, still lost in her thoughts. She jumped up to her feet and laughed out loud. "Hahaha! Yeah Jet, of course I'm fine! It's not like I did anything or something!"

Jet looked at her uneasily. "…Are you hiding something?"

"What, me? No! Nonono!" she vigorously shook her head.

'_Eep, I can't let Jet know! It's too…too…embarrassing!"_

Jet eyed her suspiciously, then shrugged. "Whatever."

Kaitlyn ran up behind Virginia and wrapped her short arms around her waist, Karen standing behind her. "Ginny, Grandma Halle said that we can open our presents now! Everyone's already back at Uncle Gallows' place!" Kaitlyn squealed enthusiastically.

"Okay, okay! Let's go then!" Virginia offered her hand to Jet. "Come on, before they become impatient!" she said with a smile.

Jet took her hand and got up. "So, how exactly does this present stuff work? Do I have to do anything?"

Virginia laughed heartily. "Hehe, I'll explain on the way."

* * *

**6:14 P.M – Unknown House**

Eroz, Two, and Three were still partying the night away like the three amigos.

"Okay, how bout this one…" Three started. "There's three guys, two Americans and an Aussie bloke. They walk into a bar…"

"Heard it." Eroz and Two chorused. "In fact, you told that joke three minutes ago."

"Oh…" Three said. "Well, cripes to me, then!"

"That means you have to steal the beer," Two tossed him a set of keys. "I took the liberty of stealing you a dump truck, you take the liberty of filling it with alcohol."

Three shoved the keys in his pocket and grumbled out the door.

"How the hell did you make him do that?" Eroz asked.

"Well, firstly, he's an idiot. Lastly…He's an idiot."

"True that Two, true that."

* * *

**6:20 P.M – Gallows' House**

Their walk back to Gallows' house had taken longer than it should have. Jet had made them walk slower to get every little detail about the presents and how everything worked. When they finally arrived, everybody was practically drooling at the tree. Halle had told them not to touch it until everyone had arrived. Specifically, Jet and Virginia.

"It's about time! This waiting is killing me!" Gallows shouted dramatically, tears in his eyes. "It's like putting a beer in front of me, and telling me not to drink it!"

"Sorry Gallows, we were just talking and kind of got sidetracked," Virginia apologized.

"Kind of?" Gallows moaned sarcastically. "Bah, forget it, let's just get into the presents!"

Everyone looked around for their presents, eager to see what they got. Of course, along with the usual choice of gifts such as clothes or similar bits and pieces, some presents were a little more memorable than others.

Some of the more intriguing gifts were the ones Jet received from the Keeper of Gifts. Iris opened hers first, where she found a necklace with a sun made of bronze.

"Wow, Jet, it's beautiful! How can I ever _thank_ you?" she seductively tickled Jet's neck, causing him to shiver.

"Ahem!" Virginia quickly shoved Iris away from Jet, dazing her. "Well, Karen, what did you get?"

Apart from the embarrassing piece of lingerie she got from Iris, and the small bottle of bourbon from Gallows (which Halle had confiscated, as well as giving Gallows a good whack), there was Jet's present. She tidily unwrapped it and found a necklace with a wolf cub made of gold.

"Ehh? It's so pretty!" Karen said with delight. She stared at Jet with bright cheeks. "Thank you, Jet!"

"Um, sure, don't mention it." He came close so that only Karen would hear. "I'm serious, don't mention it," Karen blinked, then giggled uncontrollably.

"Well, I'll open mine now!" Virginia began unwrapping her present. She also received a necklace, but hers had a symbol of a full moon made out of quicksilver. It was made with incredible craftsmanship, which involved creating a very thin, hollow model of the moon, and filling the center with mercury. The model of the moon was made in such a way that it could reflect light exactly like the real moon.

Jet mistook Virginia's look of awe as a bad thing. "Is-Is it bad? Should I get something else?" Jet said in a panic. Virginia looked at him, a small tear in her eye. _'Oh crap! I made here cry!'_

Jet was about to apologize before Virginia spoke. "Oh my gosh, Jet, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! My goodness, it must've cost a fortune!" she wrapped her arms around Jet and gave him a big hug. "Thanks, Jet."

Jet stood there in surprise before lifting his arms and placing them around her. He whispered into her ear. "You're welcome."

After everyone had finished opening their presents, they all stared at Jet with a look of intent.

"What?" Jet asked in confusion.

"Aren't you going to open your presents?" they asked.

"I…I got…presents?" he said in amazement. "…Me?"

"Of course you did, stupid!" Gallows playfully patted him on the back.

Jet cautiously stared at the remaining presents. He had received seven presents in total. He chose one at random and picked it up.

'Jet, we've been through a lot since we first met, and I must say, you're the most interesting person I've ever met. You'll always be welcome in our family. Your friends, Clive, and family.'

Jet carefully unwrapped the long, thin package. He removed the cover and found a sword made from a strange black metal.

"I found it during one of my old expeditions. I never found out what the sword was called, or even what it's made from, but it's a metal never before seen in Filgaia. I've tried breaking it, but it seems almost indestructible. I thought after your battle with Eroz some time ago that you could use a more suitable weapon to fight him with." Clive explained.

Jet held the strange sword, feigning a few slashes. It was surprisingly light, which suited Jet's fast-paced style of fighting. But he also felt a strange kind of power coming from it. He sheathed it and set it aside before picking up another present. He read the label on the second one.

'Hey punk, we been doing all kinds of crap here and there, and it was crazy! I think you need a woman or something, 'cause you need to loosen up. You know all you do is…'

The note became incomprehensible at that point, and Jet guessed that Gallows was drunk when he wrote it.

"Kamikaze Scotch," Jet read the label on the bottle that Gallows had given him. It was a famous scotch brand in Filgaia, known to kill men in a single shot.

"Er, okay…" Jet put it on the table and picked up another gift.

'Dear Jet, thank you for everything you've done for me. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be locked up in a cell. I hope we can become more than just ordinary friends. Love, Karen.'

'_More than friends? What's that mean?' _Jet pondered as he unwrapped the gift. Inside he found a homemade scarf, with his name written on the edge. She had even made it in his favorite red-and-white style.

"You made it?" Virginia asked her.

"I like sewing," She said happily. "I can't remember how I learnt to do it, but I just knew."

Jet replaced the tattered leftovers of his old scarf and put on the new one. He then grabbed another gift.

'This is only the first part of my present. I'll give you the rest later tonight! Love, Iris.'

Jet stared in confusion at the present he received. A skintight leather costume along with a whip.

"Huh? What a weird outfit…" Jet said. Virginia quickly grabbed the outfit and ran off.

"I'll just put this away for you!" she yelled back. "Just open the rest of your presents!"

Jet just shrugged and did as she said.

'You have a dangerous life ahead of you, and Filgaia and every living thing on it will be on your shoulders. Keep a clear head, listen to your heart, and you'll do fine. Halle.'

Halle had given him a pendant with a wolf on it. She explained it was a lucky charm blessed by the Guardians. He slipped it around his neck and opened the next gift.

'Dear Jet, I hope you've enjoyed your Christmas, even if you want to act like you didn't. Just remember, we're all here for you, through the good times and the bad. Love, Virginia.'

Virginia had given him a music box, which played a beautiful tune, along with a girl in purple dancing inside it. Jet stared at it for a long time, the tune soothing his ears.

Virginia was coming back from wherever she had put the leather suit, and Jet closed the box and slipped it in his pocket.

Jet looked at the last present in confusion, his hand lingering in front of it.

"What's wrong?" Clive asked.

"I could swear that I got a present from everyone already, but there's another one," he picked it up and looked at the tag. "It's from Maya."

"What? How?" Virginia thought in confusion. "The only way this could be here is if she…"

"-Came here to bring it herself? Bingo." Maya's head popped in through the door, carrying a bag of assorted sweets. "Had to stay with the family for awhile since it was Christmas, but I managed to persuade them to let me hang out with you guys for the night!"

"And what kind of persuasion are you referring to?" Clive asked reluctantly.

"Oh you know, the old 'if you don't let me go, I'm going to rip off my dress and streak through our neighborhood and destroy the family name' shtick. Works every time."

Everyone stared at her in disbelief, but stopped when they noticed Jet had continued opening his gift.

"Hmm…" Jet opened the present, which was in the form of an envelope, and patted out whatever was in it onto his hand. "What are these?"

Everyone came closer to look, and found he was holding two tickets for an amusement park called 'The Drifting Cannon". The Cannon was famous not only for being the best amusement park around, but it was the only amusement park around.

"Wow, I heard these cost a lot." Clive said, inspecting the tickets to see if they were counterfeits.

"Meh, my dad has a friend in the business who gave him these for a gift." Maya shrugged and slumped onto a couch. "Anyway, Merry Christmas, all!"

"Merry Christmas!" Everyone yelled.

And so began the common Baskar tradition, one which Gallows was quite fond of – drinking yourself into Wild ARMs 1.

* * *

**7:00 P.M – Baskar Temple**

Everybody had drunk themselves stupid fairly quickly, but Jet wasn't much for alcohol, only having a cup. He decided to sneak out while everyone else drank and get a bit of alone time, but he also wanted to take care of the reason he came to the Colony.

"Hey, Halle, you in here?" he called into the temple, his voice echoing back at him. He sighed, and sat on the ground in front of the Guardian statues, staring up at them in thought.

"Is there something you need, Jet?" Halle had mysteriously appeared behind Jet, causing him to jump in surprise.

"You really gotta teach me how to do that."

"Maybe another time, I'm sure you had something more appropriate to ask me?"

Jet looked at her seriously. "When I was captured by Eroz, I heard a lot of things."

"Ah," Halle looked down, her face seemed full of regret. "You must mean the story about the battle of Guardians and the Fallen, right? And that the Guardians were hunting the humans and Elws."

"So it's true, then," Jet felt anger burning up inside. "Why didn't you tell me? Tell anybody?"

Halle sighed, turning to face the Guardians. "We humans are reality-wise very weak. Some of us may be able to reach amazing feats of physical strength, but psychologically and emotionally, anyone can be broken to pieces in an instant."

"And your point is?"

Halle faced Jet, her eyes giving a sad gaze. "We need something to believe in, something to give us hope to a better future. We want to feel that everything can be okay, and that someone's taking care of us. That's what the Guardians do. This may have been different before, but the so-called battle ended a long time ago."

"How did it end?" Jet asked.

Halle put her hand out in front of her. "Clive told me you found a book called 'the Guard of Guardians'. I'll show you."

Jet suddenly remembered that he had left the book with him the whole time (wherever it is that they keep things, I swear I can't hold 99 berries without a bag). He fished through his belongings and handed Halle an old, gray book.

"Let's see," she began fervently flipping through the pages before stopping at one. "Here we go. Look here,"

She handed Jet the book, who flipped it around and looked in. "…The battle between Guardians and the Fallen was affecting the humans and Elws disastrously. Filgaia had become the battlefield, and everything interfering was destroyed in an instant. Zero, no longer able to stand the slaughter of the humans and Elws, called for a peace agreement to be made between the Guardians and themselves. The deal made was the Guardians would look after the humans and Elws to the best of their ability, and in exchange, Zero would deactivate himself. The Guardians decided that this was a worthy deal, and agreed. Zero was put into stasis, and the Guardians used their powers to help heal Filgaia and its population. However, no knowledge has been found of the aftermath of the Fallen, who have all gone missing."

Jet stopped reading and thought to himself. "So Zero gave himself up to save Filgaia, huh…"

"That's correct." Halle nodded.

"…And I'm supposed to be this Zero?"

"It's a high possibility. After all, it does seem that Eroz and the Fallen recognize something about you similar to Zero."

Jet didn't answer, instead staring at the Lance of Animation still wrapped on his arm.

"Jet, I can understand your confusion. It must be hard not knowing who you really are, even after finding out about your… past. It would be best to just continue being Jet. Don't waste your time trying to probe this Zero business, just let it be."

Jet breathed deeply. "…Yeah, I guess."

Halle stretched out and yawned. "Well, if that's all, a lady needs her sleep," she began to walk off.

"Halle!" Jet called, causing her to turn around. "…Thanks."

Halle smiled, and disappeared into the dark night.

"…" Jet sighed, massaging his temples. "I need to forget things. But how…"

Jet walked back into the house, and found everybody had fallen asleep all over the place. Gallows' face was planted into the wall, lying on his stomach. Clive had taken the couch, and the girls had cuddled together on the floor with a few cushions. He saw a bottle of scotch on the table.

"Well, I guess I might as well," he grabbed the scotch and raised the bottle above his head. "Merry Christmas, you stupid android."

He threw the bottle back and slammed down everything that was left in the bottle. He dropped it after finishing it, the bottle rolling across the floor. The alcohol had already made him fell queasy and sleepy, his vision a blur. After a few seconds of wandering and mumbling incoherently, he fell to the ground with a thump and fell asleep.

**MIDNIGHT**

**  
END CHAPTER 13

* * *

**

**A/N:** Updates are slowing down right now. I've reached the most important years of my high school, so finding time to write is surprisingly difficult. Still, I'll try to keep this going, and hopefully I'll finish it soon! Reviews help as always! Oh yeah, and next chapter will have lots of action to make up for the loss of it during Christmas.

**NEXT CHAPTER**

Celebrations are over, and the team has to get back to saving the world! Eroz sends a special invitation for Jet and the gang to join a 'contest', and if he wins, Eroz will give up his plans to destroy Filgaia! But can he be trusted? Only one way to find out!


	14. Wolf in a Cage

** Chapter 14 – Wolf in a Cage**

**Author's Note:** This chapter is dedicated to AnimeGoddessS, thanks again! Well, this chapter probably would've taken a lot longer, but I decided to put some effort into getting this one done. I hope I can get another one done soon, but as usual, no promises.

* * *

**7:30 A.M – Gallows' House**

Jet slurred to reality in a daze, his head spinning out of control. His body ached all over, and he smelt like rotten fish.

"Oh God…" he moaned, trying to open his eyes and shielding them from the light pouring in from the windows. He gave up and closed them again, letting his arm flop over to his side. "Huh… Jiggly…" Jet mumbled as his hand landed on a soft mound. He poked it in wonder, trying to work out what it was.

"Nnngh… Ah…" a girl's voice squeaked. Jet glanced in pain at what made the sound, and jumped in shock so fast that all the blood in his head went down, momentarily dazing him. It turned out that the soft mound had belonged to Virginia, who had been passed out next to him.

"I'm sorry!" he almost yelled, cringing in fear of what she might've done if she were awake. He remembered she was asleep and calmed down. "Gosh, I need some air…"

* * *

**7:59 A.M – Baskar Colony**

Jet lay just outside the entrance to the Colony, breathing in fresh air and enjoying the breeze of the wind. He felt a little out of it due to the alcohol, but was coping fairly well.

"I never want to drink again," he said to himself, clutching his grumbling stomach. "I do however, want to eat…"

"Heh, androids like us can live without food for months on end, did you know that?" a familiar, steely voice called from behind him. Jet spun around, reaching for his ARM, only to find that he had forgot to bring it with him. He stepped back into a defensive position, guarding himself with his arms in caution.

"What the hell are you doing here, Eroz?" he said, watching him carefully.

"Tut tut, Zero! I hoped we could've talked with a more... casual outlook," he smiled icily.

"Why don't you have a casual outlook on this!" Jet yelled, charging at him. He jumped up and tried to land a kick on him, but Eroz simply sighed, grabbing Jet's leg, thumping him to the ground, and placing his foot over his face. Eroz bent down to look at Jet's face.

"What a pitiful thing to see… Look at you! Writhing about like a worm. I'll bet it was the influence of those weirdos you're always around. Maybe I should do you a favor and 'take care' of them…" he whispered to Jet evilly.

"You leave them out of this, you sick bastard!" Jet struggled to free himself, but Eroz would just push down harder on his head, to the point that it felt like he was going to burst. Eroz tossed down a small envelope by Jet's face.

"I _may_ leave them alone, but you have to do something for me. You scratch my back, and… I don't completely obliterate yours, as the saying goes!"

Jet felt the pressure on his head disappear. He jumped up, eyes darting around, but Eroz had disappeared. Jet rubbed the side of his head, swollen from Eroz's weight.

"Damn that guy…" Jet cursed, picking up the envelope. Ripping it open, he found a small folded letter. Jet's eyes narrowed. "He has _got_ to be kidding."

* * *

**9:00 A.M – Gallows' House**

Virginia was finally slurring to consciousness. Her head was spinning, her back hurt, and her eyes burned from last night's party. Half-heartedly trying to get up, she eventually gave up and fell back down.

"Uhh, Jet, you awake?" she said with her eyes closed. A minute of silence passed. "Hm, guess not."

Suddenly a lot of thrashing about was heard, and Clive rushed in, shouting frantically.

"Ahh, what's all this noise about?" Maya said groggily.

"It's Jet! He's left again!"

Everyone suddenly shot up.

"WHAAAAAT?"

* * *

**9:04 A.M – Gallows' House**

'I've had some business to take care of. Don't try to find me. –Jet.'

That was all his letter had said. The only thing Jet had left behind before once again disappearing without a trace. Gallows, Clive, Virginia, Maya, Karen, and Iris all sat together. Clive had just finished reading the letter out for the third time by Virginia's request.

"I'm sure he must've left some kind of hidden message in it somewhere!" Virginia stuttered. "He must have!"

Clive sighed sadly. "I'm sorry Virginia, but no matter how you look at this letter, it only says that Jet has once again left."

Everyone on the table went quiet. Suddenly, Halle had entered the room.

"Ahh, I always enjoy my morning stroll…" she stopped dead when she noticed everyone looking serious. "Hmm, let me have a guess now… Jet's run off again, hasn't he?"

Everyone looked up at her in surprise.

"H-How did you do that?" Clive asked, bewildered.

"Well, let's say having a son run out on you gives you a kind of sense for it," she stated before smacking Gallows in the back of the head.

"OW! What?"

"Anyway, don't fret, kids. I have a feeling that something like this might happen. Don't worry, Jet hasn't run away from you all. In fact, I'd guess this is his way of protecting us," Halle sighed and took a seat.

"Protecting us?" Gallows asked. "How the hell does running away protect us?"

"I found this note on my walk. It wasn't directly addressed to Jet, but I doubt it was for anyone else."

Halle took out a scrunched piece of paper and tossed it onto the table. Everyone reached out to grab it at the same time, and after a fleet of embarrassment, Clive picked up the paper and read it out aloud.

'In the outskirts of Gunner's Heaven is a secret fighting arena underground. Find the hatch, and use the password 'Broken Dreams' to unlock the door. Come alone, or we'll kill all your friends.'

"That's all it says," Clive said, lowering the paper and looking up at everyone.

"What the heck does this mean…" Maya said to herself. Virginia jumped up to take initiative.

"Let's go to Gunner's Heaven and find this place!" she yelled.

"We shouldn't be so hasty Virgi-"

"I SAID LET'S GO TO GUNNER'S HEAVEN!"

"O-Okay!" everyone yelled in fear.

* * *

**9:30 A.M – Warrior's Heaven**

"What the hell is this place…" Jet said in awe.

After spending almost an hour looking for the hatch, he finally arrived at the secret fighting arena, Warrior's Heaven. While similar to Gunner's Heaven, Jet had seen that everyone in the ring fought with a variety of weapons – swords, lances, knives, poles – but not one fought with an ARM. Jet had assumed that it was an arena that banned the use of ARMs.

"Good thing I brought that sword Clive got me, just in case," Jet said, patting the sword strapped to his back. After mentioning Clive's name, he thought about how his former comrades were doing. Realizing what he was thinking about, he shook it off and headed for a counter labeled 'Information'.

"What can I do you for, sugar?" asked a cabaret-esque woman wearing heavy makeup.

"Uhh, Eroz sent me an invitation for this place," Jet said.

"Oh, you must be that Zero boy. He left this for you," she procured a note and slipped it to him. Jet picked it up and unfolded it.

'I've entered you in the tournament. You're alias will be 'Wolf'. Head for the waiting room, where I've left a disguise for you. Nobody can find out who you are. If you survive and win the finals, I'll disappear and leave you to your new life as Jet. However, if you lose or are discovered, your friends will die. Your goal is to win the grand prize, which you shall hand over to me. Good luck, Commander Zero, or should I say, Wolf?'

"Well, what a warm welcome," Jet murmured, slipping the piece of paper in his pocket. "Hey, tell me where the waiting room is."

* * *

**11:00 A.M – Warrior's Heaven**

"This must be it," Clive called out. He keyed in the password on the lock, and the door opened with a hiss.

"Good work, Clive!" Virginia called. Everyone filed in, the hatch closing behind them.

The group was made up of Virginia, Gallows, Clive, and Maya. Iris and Karen were told to wait with Lombardia, as it would be dangerous.

"This sure is some place," Gallows said with a whistle.

"It appears to be some kind of arena," Clive pondered. "It's very old-fashioned, though."

"What makes you say that?" Gallows asked.

"As you'd have noticed in Gunner's Heaven, essentially we fight monsters in a fairly open environment with our ARMs. With all the staff to keep watch, the death rate isn't very high. However, out here, the rules are different. You fight with other human beings, without the use of ARMs from the look of it, and it takes place in a cage. Nobody can go in to help you if you're seriously injured, and I assume the match doesn't end until somebody dies."

Everyone looked grimly at Clive. Maya broke the silence. "We better hurry and find Jet then, before he does something stupid like enter this contest."

Before any of them could move, a horde of people came bustling in from the hatch, chatting loudly.

"I heard there's a new contestant coming!"

"No way, where'd you hear that?"

"It's the only thing the Fallen are talking about! This new guy must be strong!"

"Maybe he'll be a real looker!"

"Let's go, I think his match is on soon!"

The crowd bustled right into Virginia and the gang, who were inadvertently dragged with them.

* * *

**11:20 A.M – Warrior's Heaven**

"Urghh, I fell sick…" Gallows moped. "That was like getting on a boat ride or something."

The group had found themselves sitting in the stands along with the group that had shoved them in.

"What do we do now?" Maya whispered to Virginia. "We've gotta find Jet!"

"I know, I know…" Virginia muttered back. The two girls closed their eyes and thought.

"Hey, hey, the fight's starting, it's that new guy!"

Cheers filled the room as the next contestants entered the cage. One was a extremely large man wearing a hockey mask and wrestling tights. The other wore a completely black outfit, with a balaclava covering most of his features. The only things you could make out with effort were his eyes and a glint of grayish hair slipping out of the balaclava. Strapped to his back was a sword that seemed strangely familiar to Clive.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" announced the host. "Entering from the left, the one and only Cannonball! In the last competition he came in second place, and this time, he plans to head to the top!"

The audience cheered and echoed his name. Virginia and the gang weren't very impressed, in fact, Gallows could be seen trying not to laugh.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Maya asked in annoyance.

"Oh come on!" he sniggered. "Look at him! He looks like a loser!" Gallows said before finally breaking out into a laugh. The crowd looked at him with irritation in their eyes.

"Um, girls, I think it's best we step back a bit," Clive said, ushering them away from Gallows as the crowds leapt onto him, beating him with chairs, baseball bats, sausages, whatever they could get their hands on. Gallows' pleas for help were ignored by the gang, as they pretended not to know him.

"And entering from the right is a newcomer to Warrior's Heaven! The man in black, Wolf! I feel sorry for him, since his first opponent happens to be a pro! What will come of this match? Watch and find out!"

Jeers and boos were heard in the crowd.

"You're going to get pounded by the Cannonball!"

"Whatcha got, little boy?"

"Why don't you run home to mommy, kid!"

Virginia looked at the masked stranger, who stood silent. _'That guy… what is this feeling?"_

"Get ready to feel pain, kid!" Cannonball taunted his opponent.

Wolf merely looked at him with evil eyes, giving Cannonball a moment of nervousness.

"Seal the cage!" the host yelled. The cage doors on either side slid to a shut, locking in the two warriors.

"Let the match begin!"

**END CHAPTER 14**

** NEXT TIME**

Virginia and the gang are on the lookout for Jet, who they think might have entered the tournament. Their suspicions are cleared when they see him on the battlefield! But why does Virginia feel that someting about him isn't quite right? And why is she finding her eyes locking onto this Wolf character? And what about Gallows, is he even still alive after that?**  
**


	15. Let's Rock!

**Chapter 15 – Let's Rock!**

**Author's Note:** My school holidays finally began, so I had time to finish this chapter! Hope people are still reading this stuff! Well, a quick recap, Jet's about to enter his first fight in Warrior's Heaven, and Virginia and the gang have arrived to look for him.

* * *

**11:30 A.M – The Cage**

Jet's large opponent, Cannonball, got the ball rolling, charging at Jet with a mighty roar. Jet observed that his body size would slow him down greatly, and he quickly dashed out of the way.

"You'll have to do better than that," Jet mocked icily. "I won't even use my weapon for this fight," he mocked, promising to leave his sword sheathed behind him. He ran under his massive arm and jabbed him into the gut.

"Oh, that hurts _so_ bad!" Cannonball said sarcastically. Jet's attack had no effect at all, his punch being absorbed by Cannonball's massive gut.

"Oh man, that is disgusting…" Jet mumbled, pulling his hand out and jumping back. "I guess I'll just aim for the head then."

Cannonball turned to face Jet menacingly. "I guess that normal attacks won't work on you!" he bent down on one knee, similar to a runner on the start line. "How about this then?"

Before Jet could do anything, his opponent had come at him at amazing speed, ramming Jet into the side of the cage. He winced in pain.

"That was Cannonball's trademark move, folks!" the announcer called out over the cheers of the crowd. "His bulldozer move has sent many to hospital! How will our new challenger, Wolf, handle this?"

Cannonball had pinned Jet to the wall, squeezing him around the waist and arms tightly.

"Unngh…" Jet struggled to break free, but Cannonball's grip was too strong. He squeezed tighter, causing Jet to grimace in pain.

"Scream! I want to hear you _scream!_" Cannonball laughed maniacally, squeezing tighter and tighter.

* * *

**10:40 A.M – The Audience**

"Well, this is certainly vulgar," Clive said, watching the fight intently. "Fighting like this doesn't happen too often nowadays. Without ARMs."

"True, true," Gallows said. "But really, this is pretty damn fun to watch! Hell, maybe I should join this!"

"Tch, men," Maya muttered. "Thriving off violence as usual!"

"Ha! You're one to talk, carrying that massive-as-hell gun in your-" Gallows was punched in the face before he could finish his sentence. Maya sighed with satisfaction.

Virginia had been strangely quiet the whole time, staring at the fight with a somewhat serious look. The others stopped bickering and looked at her. Following her eyes, they landed on Wolf, who was still pinned on the wall, writhing about.

"Virginia, what's up? Something wrong?" Gallows asked. He smirked, putting his hand over his mouth like an old lady. "Or maybe, you're in love!"

Virginia wasn't listening, still watching Wolf. Gallows stopped the joke, realizing something was wrong.

"What is it, Virginia?" Maya asked, putting her hand on her shoulder. Virginia jumped, as though she was snapping out of a trance.

"Ah, sorry! It's just…" she turned back at Wolf, who had just been tossed to the other side of the ring, hitting the floor. "…For some reason, I want that guy to win…"

Everyone stared at her, unsure of what she meant. Except for Gallows, who lay in a heap on the floor, being tread on by passer-bys.

* * *

**10:45 – The Cage**

Jet hit the floor hard, spinning into the wall. Thanks to Jet's combat experience, his injuries weren't too bad, but he had underestimated his opponent's power. He jumped up and faced his large opponent.

"You should give up, little man!" Cannonball taunted, smirking.

"We're just getting started, Tubby," Jet said icily. Jet decided he should make the initial attack this time. He dashed at Cannonball in haste. He threw his arm back and gave an almighty punch aimed at his chin. Cannonball wasn't fast enough, and Jet made a clean hit. Cannonball yelped, staggering backwards in surprise.

"When you're outmatched in strength, aim for the weak points," Jet said, jumping into the air and landing a spinning heel kick on his forehead. Cannonball moaned again, losing his balance and falling to the floor.

"Time to end this!" Jet yelled, jumping into the air once more, preparing to deliver the final blow. He looked at Cannonball's face, frozen with pain and fear. Jet landed in front of Cannonball's face, his feet near Cannonball's shoulders. He raised his hand to make the final attack, but stopped.

"Please, no… no more!" Cannonball begged, his voice disoriented. Jet flinched, trying to finish it. Cannonball looked up at him nervously.

"Give up," Jet sighed, grabbing his collar. "Give up now."

Cannonball did as he was told, signaling to the judges that he was throwing in the towel. The stadium filled with a mix of boos for Cannonball's defeat, along with cheers for 'Wolf'.

"There you have it, folks!" the announcer called out. "What a match! The newcomer Wolf defeated cannonball! Could this new warrior be going all the way? Who knows? You'll have to stay and find out!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. Wolf stood in the center of the ring as the cage was opened and his opponent was taken away. He was led off by officials shortly after, and exited the arena, the cheers still continuing behind him.

* * *

**11:00 A.M – The Audience**

They watched as some men led Wolf offstage. Gallows was off his seat whistling.

"Man, that guy is great!" Gallows shouted happily. "Why can't we have someone like that on our team? Did you see that? He took down a guy three times his size!"

"Indeed, that Wolf character is quite the fighter. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a part of the Fallen," Clive mentioned, clapping lightly.

They exited the stands and headed for the lobby, another fight already beginning.

"Well, we didn't see Jet yet," Maya said. "And it could take ages before we even find him if we're going to watch every single fight."

Clive nodded. "Perhaps they have a roster around here? Or we could ask the other competitors."

Virginia was still surprisingly quiet. Her face was full of thought. The others looked at her again, unsure of what was wrong with her.

"Hey, Ginny, come on, you okay?" Gallows asked. "Don't worry, we'll find that silver-haired maggot sooner or later!" he said, patting her on the shoulder.

Virginia once again appeared to have come back from another world. "Ah! Yeah! Right, of course!" she laughed nervously.

"Well," Clive started. "Let's go ask around. The sooner we start, the sooner we'll find him."

* * *

**11:40 A.M – The Locker Room**

Jet had finally finished cleaning and wrapping up his wounds. He sat on a bench, laying his back against the wall. He still wore his balaclava, as Eroz had instructed him to do. Other fighters were in the locker room with him.

"Hey Newbie, I saw you out there. I'm impressed!" one of the fighters said. He wore a dark green karate uniform and two iron gauntlets. "you didn't even use your sword. You should've seen how it went last tournament! Cannonball had people begging for mercy. Not that he gave them any mercy, mind you!"

"No kidding," another fighter, a bald man wearing boxing shorts joined in. "Heard he killed quite a number of people out here. Of course, I've taken down twenty or so myself."

"Whatever, I don't care," Jet replied. Another fighter was coming up to them, a towel over his shoulder, and a bar of soap in his hand.

"Hey guys, you heard the news? There're these two really hot chicks, a brutish tanned guy, and a green-haired scientist looking for a fighter with silver hair!" he raised the soap in front of them. "I'm gonna wash up and try to impress the babes!"

Jet's eyes twitched for a moment as he looked up at the man.

The other two fighters laughed heartily. "How hot are we talking here?" they asked.

"Oh my God, you have _no _idea!" he smiled uncontrollably. "One of 'em seem like the real petite type, with long, brown hair and a sweet voice! And the other seems like the wild type, with blonde hair and a hot-headed attitude!" he said, practically drooling. The other two fighters also looked quite pleased.

"Why don't we go have our fun with them, aye?" the man in the karate gi said.

"No!" Jet shot up in surprising anger. "Don't lay a hand on them!"

The three guys looked at him in surprise. "Hey, hey, no need to get pissed, man. You can have a go after me. I mean, if we all work together, I'm sure we can all get a little action…"

Jet's foot shot up, booting the man in the face. "Hey!" the boxer was about to punch him, but Jet already has his fist in his stomach, sending him flying across the floor. Jet stood there panting in annoyance. He looked up at the last guy, who stood there quivering.

"Go have your shower, but you touch those girls, and I'll boot you where the sun don't shine," Jet said as he left the locker room, leaving behind two dazed men on the floor.

Jet stepped out into the hallway in frustration. He scolded himself for losing control.

"Geh, I could've blown my cover…" he sighed. As he was staring at his feet as he walked, he accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh, excuse me…"

He looked up and almost jumped back in surprise and shock. The person he had bumped into was in fact Virginia. The others caught her before she fell over.

'Uh oh, gotta go, gotta go!' he thought to himself, preparing to make a break for it. He was stopped by a sudden grab for his shoulder.

"Hold on a minute," Gallows said, holding tightly onto his shoulder. "We got a question."

Jet turned around stiffly, gulping in anxiety. "Um, yeah, sure," he said in a muffled voice. "What is it?"

Virginia took out a picture of the gang, showing them all around the campfire. Gallows was laughing heartily with a beer mug in his hand, Clive was sitting patiently reading one of his textbooks, Jet was sulking away in the corner, and Virginia was sitting next to him trying to talk to him. Jet wondered for a moment who could've taken the picture.

"Have you seen someone that looks like this?" Virginia asked, pointing at Jet. He looked away, fearing they would somehow recognize him behind his balaclava.

"Um, no sorry, haven't seen him," Jet replied in his fake voice. "I'll tell you if I see him. My match is going to start in an hour, so I have to go."

"Wait!" they called, but Jet was already bounding down the corridor.

* * *

**1:20 P.M – The Cage**

"As usual folks, the men have been separated from the children in a mere hour of bloodshed!" screamed out the announcer. "We have now arrived at the semi-final round, where only four contestants remain! These four men have already proven themselves in their last matches, and are also the only ones fit enough to continue!"

The crowd cheered loudly, the front seat members rattling the cage.

"BLOOD! GIVE US BLOOD!"

"Patience, ladies and gentlemen, for we have a special once-in-a-lifetime match today! Especially brought to you by Eroz himself, who suggested this! We shall be having a _battle royale!_" the crowd went wild at the sound of this.

"So folks, we'll now introduce the participants!" Jet walked out, along with three other men wearing shady, black cloaks. "Our first participant is the rising star, Wolf!"

Cheers rang out as Jet stepped into the cage. He walked to the center and turned to face his three opponents.

"Someone everyone here should be familiar with! Known as one of the great Fallen!" Jet twitched at the sound of the Fallen. "The whip-cracking bushman, Three!"

Three threw off his cloak as he stepped into the cage, wearing a bushman's outfit and carrying a long, thick whip with three tails.

"Time to finish what we started, Zero-boy!" Three smirked, cracking his whip.

"Another man of the Fallen! The man the ladies want, and the men want to be! The one and only – Two!"

The crowd went crazy, the females especially, as Two elegantly let his cloak fall to the floor. He wore a black, sleeveless gi, complete with a black ribbon tying his long hair into a ponytail.

Jet was starting to get really sweaty underneath his disguise.

"Dammit, this could not get any worse than this," he murmured.

"And the final contestant! Another newcomer with amazing strength! The Lone Drifter, Jet!"

Jet froze. He looked to the last contestant as he threw off his cloak. And there, he saw something that almost made him jump.

There stood a gray-haired young man, who looked and dressed exactly like Jet. The only difference was his red eyes.

"Oh. My. God." Jet wasn't quite sure what, but something told him he was royally screwed.

**END CHAPTER 15**

**NEXT TIME!**  
While Jet is stuck in the battle royale of the century, his comrades believe they have finally found Jet! What could Eroz possibly mean to do from this? And just what is this imposter Jet? A look-alike? More importantly, what chance does Jet have of getting out of this alive and winning the safety of himself and his friends?


	16. Even Androids can Grow Taller

**Chapter 16 – Even Androids can Grow Taller**

**Author's Note - **Another chapter which has taken some time, mainly because I'm entering the most important exams of my school years, but hey, I wrote this in between study sessions. Hope people are still reading this stuff!**  
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* * *

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**1:30 P.M – The Cage**

Jet stared at his mirror counterpart, his balaclava disguising his look of awe. This was no cheap imitation of him either: he was identical down to the worn scarves around his neck.

"What is this?" Jet exclaimed harshly at Two and Three. Three smirked and began pacing around Jet.

"He's quite a convincing copy, eh mate?" Three grinned with anticipation as he walked around Jet, putting Jet between Two and the fake and himself. "Eroz himself helped to design him."

"Well, I'm just flattered," Jet said, turning his head to keep an eye on Three. "But still, arranging a three-on-one battle on me, that's just too nice of him."

"Heh, relax, little man. We're all men of battle, aye? So we're going to strike a deal. You get through your clone, and you win."

Jet looked at him suspiciously. "You two aren't going to interfere?"

Three shrugged ruefully. "Accidents happen. If you get in our way, we'll beat ya back out. It's too bad. I was hoping to take you down myself. It would have been better for you too: this copy will prob'ly rip ya to shreds!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the match will now begin!" the announcer yelled.

A bell went off, signaling the start of the match. The Jet clone wasted no time, almost seeming to disappear as it charged at Jet going at an amazing speed. Jet was unable to follow him, only seeing him when he had arrived underneath his face, where he was swiftly and painfully uppercut in the jaw. The force was great enough to send Jet off the floor, and was promptly punched back down by the clone. He hit the ground with a thud, chalk dust from the floor swirling around him.

Before he had the chance to stand, the clone had already grabbed his leg, spinning him around before hurling him into the cage wall. Jet smacked the wire fence hard, grunting on impact.

"He's pretty strong, ain't he?" Three said before laughing at Jet's pain. "We decided to give him a few minor…_alterations_ from the original."

"No…No kidding," Jet panted, clambering to his feet. The clone threw another punch, but Jet managed to block it, throwing a straight punch of his own. A blow to the clone's face sent him reeling across the floor. Jet decided now was a better time than ever, and grabbed the handle of the sword Clive had given him, which was strapped to his back, hidden underneath his clothes. But before he could properly draw it, something smacked his hand away, and grabbed the sword. He turned to see Three holding it, putting it into his coat with such speed that the audience probably missed it.

"Ah, ah, ah!" he said, wagging his finger. "We wouldn't want you damaging our clone! It cost us a pretty penny to make that!"

"You ass…" Jet grunted. Before he had a chance to get it back, the clone was already back up, rearing to go. Jet put his concentration back on the clone.

The crowd was roaring in excitement.

* * *

**1:45 P.M – The Audience**

"He's right there! Why are we still sitting here?" Gallows yelled out.

"Think, Gallows. We're in Fallen territory. If we cause a ruckus here, where not only Eroz and his men are, but an entire brigade of warriors working for Eroz, we will most definitely be killed." Clive replied calmly.

"Clive may be right, but it wouldn't be right to just sit and watch! Jeez!" Maya huffed in frustration. "What the heck do we do?"

Virginia stared at the fight, at the fighter that looked like Jet, with serious eyes. "Something's wrong…" she whispered under her breath.

* * *

**1:47 P.M – The Cage**

Jet groaned as the clone charged him into the fence. Jet whipped his knee up to the clone's chin, knocking him back before slapping him to the floor with a roundhouse kick. The clone flipped up with ease, Jet's last attack having virtually no effect on him.

"This isn't good," Jet puffed. He was becoming fatigued, and his injuries were becoming worse. He knew that if the fight continued like this, he would die. The clone threw another punch, which Jet barely managed to avoid, before another punch came at his stomach, winding him. He clutched at the clone's jacket, trying to stay up, but fell to a strong elbow to his back. Jet's vision was beginning to blur.

'_I've gotta do something…If I don't, Eroz will kill everyone!'_ Jet thought to himself.

The clone stomped hard on Jet's back, making him grunt in pain. He stomped on Jet continuously, the crowd yelling out. Whether they were cheering or horrified by the inhumanity was unknown.

* * *

**1:50 P.M – The Audience**

Virginia and the gang watched intently. All of their faces had become dead serious.

"You guys," Virginia started, still watching the fight. "The truth is, when I first saw 'Jet' step into the ring, I thought…no, I _knew_, it wasn't him."

"I admit at the time I was certain it was him," Clive said. "But this…Jet wouldn't do something like this."

"Yeah," Gallows replied. "Even that punk-ass kid isn't _this_ big a punk-ass."

"So Jet is most likely…" Maya pointed at the man called Wolf with a double-barreled finger-gun, making a popping noise as she feigned recoil.

"Everyone thinking the same thing as I am?" Gallows said, standing up. The rest followed suit.

"You bet!"

In a mad rush, they began jumping over the crowds, making their way for the cage.

* * *

**1:54 P.M – The Cage**

Jet's back had begun bleeding, the mark of the clone's shoe etched out in blood. Jet's groans were growing weaker, and he was slipping out of consciousness.

"I hope it hurts!" Three taunted with glee. "Louder! Scream louder!"

Jet grit his teeth, trying to stay awake. He didn't think he could take it for much longer. His ears caught a strange ruckus in the crowd, along with familiar voices.

"Excuse me…Sorry…Pardon me…"

"Get outta the way! Move! Move! MOVE!"

Jet's eyes were practically shut already as he heard an explosion in the side of the fence. He heard the bang of bullets, followed by the clone suddenly flying off his body. He flipped his body over, his back on the floor, and glanced at where the bullets had come from.

There stood Virginia, Gallows, Clive, and Maya, all had their guns raised, all their guns smoking. Jet laughed, but disguised it as a cough.

"You're all a bunch of idiots," Jet replied with a smirk.

"You bet your buttcheeks we are," Gallows replied, throwing Jet over his shoulder. "And you, punk, are an idiot with us."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, mate!" Three yelled in surprise and anger.

"Now Clive!" Virginia yelled. Clive tossed a strange potion in the air, raised his rifle and took aim.

"Look away!" he called out as he fired.

BANG.

As soon as the bullet made contact with the bottle, an immensely bright light filled the stadium, blinding everybody that saw it. The gang took this chance to escape, running out to the entrance, but not before Clive noticed Three drop a black sword, which he promptly grabbed.

They burst out in a hurry, as they could hear many footsteps behind them. The sudden hit of natural sunlight burned their eyes, however Lombardia, who was already waiting for them, quickly blocked it out.

The gang was transported inside, and Lombardia took off before Two and Three could stop them. Lombardia made its way back to the Baskar Colony.

* * *

**11:30 P.M – Gallows' House**

"He still hasn't woken up, huh…" Gallows said with a dull face, standing in the doorway. Jet lay in bed, bandages around his torso and over one shoulder, and Virginia, Karen, Maya, Iris and Clive all sat by the bed.

"I've done all I can," Iris said frankly. "But the damage was severe. He in fact lost quite a lot of blood too."

"There is also the fact that Jet isn't exactly a normal patient," Clive continued. "We can only do what we know, but if any damage came to his mechanical systems, there isn't much we could do."

Gallows saw that everyone was looking down, and tried to cheer them up. "Come on, you guys all know that the kid isn't a pushover! If he died this easily, he would've died ages ago!"

Everyone laughed a little. "You're right," Virginia said. "Like the time he pushed me out of the way of those rocks! It even happened twice!"

"Or when we fought with those three crazy guys in rags!" Clive continued, with a surprising jump in his tone. "They were very dangerous!"

"Ha! Even I, the great Maya, couldn't beat that guy!" Maya said with a smirk.

"Great? Ha!" everyone laughed.

They all calmed down a bit after that. "We shouldn't worry so much," Virginia said. "He'll be fine. Jet's always fine."

Everyone agreed, and they all left him to rest.

* * *

**11:59 P.M – Gallows' House**

Virginia couldn't sleep, so she crept out and headed for Jet's room. She didn't know why she automatically went there, something inside just told her to.

Moonlight revealed parts of the room, showing Jet's jacket and scarves hung on a chair, and his Airget and sword resting on the wall opposite the window. She walked over and touched Jet's scarf playfully.

"You're always fine…right?" Virginia whispered sadly. She walked over to the bed, feeling around for Jet's head.

She couldn't find it. The bed was empty.

Shocked, she ran out of the house, thinking Jet had run away once again. She burst out of the door, into the outskirts of Baskar Colony. She ran to a nearby lake, reminiscent of the lake where she and Jet had played together after the incident at the King's Tomb (reference to chapter one). She looked around, feeling that Jet was nearby.

"Jet!" she yelled out. "Jet! Don't leave me again!"

She was about to yell again, when she heard a familiar, soothing voice.

"No need to be so loud."

She spun around, and almost like magic, Jet had appeared, his back facing her. He wasn't wearing anything on top, so his bandages were peeling off from the wind. They fluttered as a gust passed by.

"Jet!" she said in relief. "I thought you left again."

Jet didn't reply. He turned to face her, his face sullen. "Eroz made a deal with me. If I was able to win that competition, he wouldn't hurt you and the others, and he would leave us alone."

"Jet…?"

"He also said he would give up on destroying the world… But I didn't win. Because of me, the earth is doomed, we're doomed, and you're going to be taken away from me…" Jet quickly rephrased what he said with a red face. "I mean us, you're going to be taken away from us!"

Virginia looked down with a red face too. "I'm not afraid of that, Jet…"

"What do you mean? Eroz is going to destroy everything because of me!"

"First of all Jet, it wasn't your fault…." Virginia took a step closer to him, and looked up at him. "And second, Eroz has no chance to destroy the world or kill any of us."

"And what makes you say that?"

Virginia smiled cutely. "Because we have the nicest, strongest, and sweetest person in the world to stop him!"

"Who?" Jet asked before realizing what she meant. His face began to burn redder. "Ah…"

Virginia took another step towards him, almost toe to toe with him, and realized something.

She giggled with a petite smile on her lips. "You've become taller, Jet."

Jet looked down at her, her eyes captivating him. Before he knew what had happened, his lips were planted on hers. He slowly lifted his face off her, but immediately felt like going back in, so he did. After the second kiss, he peeled away one step, his face burning red as he bit his lip. Whatever he had done, he had enjoyed it. Virginia stood still, her face also bright, but she smiled broadly, unable to stop it.

"I guess…" Jet said, a smile creeping onto his face. "Even androids can grow taller."

* * *

**MIDNIGHT**

**END CHAPTER 16**


	17. The Lance of Animation The Endgame

**Chapter 17 – The Lance of Animation – The Endgame**

**A/N: **It's nearing the end of the Fallen story, after which I'll either consider the story finished, or I'll continue it, but it'll probably be fluffly and funny only, with less story progress on Jet. Oh well, we'll wait and see. And for a heads up, if it does end after this, it'll be such a friggin' fluffy ending that it might knock you out.

* * *

**7:00 A.M – Gallows' House**

"…So the Fallen have created a new Zero…" Halle said with a sigh. "That is _not_ good."

Virginia, Jet, Gallows, Clive, Maya, Karen, and Iris all sat around the room, Halle pacing about slowly. They all looked on with serious faces, eager to hear what she'd say.

"Frankly," she began. "Beating the Fallen now is like trying to stop a waterfall from falling."

Everyone tensed up in nervousness.

"Are you saying we can't win at all?" Maya piped up.

"Well, face it, girly, we're made of flesh and blood, easily destroyed," Iris said, posing in a very doctor-ish way. "While they are made of metals and are also excruciatingly powerful, much more powerful than even Jet here."

"That's correct," Halle said. She stopped pacing and faced towards everyone. "However, we still have one weapon that can counter them."

Jet twitched in realization. "The Lance!" he said out aloud. "I could've used the Lance to beat that clone!"

Halle promptly whacked him over the head, then also whacked Gallows over the head.

"Ow! Why? Somebody tell me why!" Gallows moaned, clutching his head.

"It's a habit dear," Halle turned her attention back to Jet. "It's lucky that you forgot about it. I told you earlier that the Lance acquires energy directly from the user. I'm guessing that your body's state was not very good at the time, meaning your energy would be low. Using the Lance at such a time, as well as trying to destroy something with as much power as your clone, would most likely have killed you."

Everyone remained quiet, except Jet, who uncharacteristically spoke up. "But it would've killed it, right?"

"Jet, you would've died!" Virginia said, jumping up.

"If it can stop those _things_, it's a small price," Jet said replied.

"Don't be an idiot," Halle smacked him again. "There's nobody else on our side with enough life energy to use the Lance. If you die, Filgaia will die with you."

Jet sighed, becoming quiet once more.

"I have been researching on the Fallen for some time now, and have gathered information on the Lost Technology used to build them. I thought it would help us discover their weak points…"

"…And?" Clive asked curiously.

"I only found out one thing," Halle said. "They have _no_ weakness whatsoever. They are built to be superhuman. They are capable of everything we are, and then some."

Everyone began to sulk even more than they already were.

"But I also discovered something else," Halle looked at Karen with hard eyes.

"Eh?" Karen glanced back innocently.

"That girl," Halle paused slightly. "I saw a picture of her in one of the old tomes."

"What?" everyone said in disbelief.

"Androids need to have bodies capable of quick movement and high strength. Because of this, they can only fit so much energy into a single android, and yet they were expected to be able to fight for months on end. To counteract this problem, they built special carriers of pure energy. Shells to replenish them when their energy ran out. They were made able to move so that they could independantly follow androids and sacrifice their energy to completely rejuvenate the combat androids."

"What does that have to do with Karen?" Iris asked.

Halle sighed once again. "She is one of them. A carrier of pure energy. They are apparently built so that, like the ordinary androids, have their own senses and are capable of following orders much like Eroz and the Fallen were before Zero changed them."

"So how did she survive up to this point?" Jet asked. "And why would Eroz have her locked up?"

"Being an android, she doesn't age very much if at all. And as for why she was locked up, it could be that she developed her own will and disobeyed Eroz. Someone must have done for her what Zero did for the Fallen," Halle cleared her throat. "Moving on, my plan is quite simple. Using the Lance of Animation would normally drain someone out completely, or in Jet's case, a fair amount. But with Karen to replenish Jet's energy, Jet should be able to safely defeat all of the remaining Fallen including the clone."

"But won't she die?" Jet asked.

"Once she has given you her energy, yes," Halle said sadly.

"I don't mi-" Karen began, but Jet butted in.

"I refuse," he said plainly.

"Be reasonable, Jet," Halle demanded, but Jet just huffed, got up and headed for the door.

"I'm taking a walk."

And Jet disappeared outside, leaving everyone else unsure of whether to chase him or give him room. However a loud boom and rumbling took their mind off that, as Jet rushed back.

"The Fallen are here!" Jet called. "And I counted thirteen."

"That must mean that…" Clive started. Halle finished his sentence.

"The other eleven Fallen, other than Jet, must have been found," Halle said. "Or worse, remade into stronger versions. I assumed wrongly that some of them had died. If all of them have come, we are in trouble."

"No freakin' shit!" Gallows said, standing up. "Gran, we gotta evacuate the Colony!"

"I have already prepared for such situations," Halle stepped outside, followed by the rest of them.

Standing outside, they now saw the rush of what looked like hovering pieces of metal flying just off the ground in the distance. They were headed straight for Baskar Colony. Twelve figures could be made out on the metal disks.

"Everyone assist me in bringing the villagers into the Temple," Halle ordered. "Jet, this may be harsh, but you'll have to fight them. If Karen goes with you…"

"No, I'll go alone," Jet said. "I don't mind fighting them, but don't involve anyone else in this. Here," he handed Halle all of the Guardian stones except for Luceid. "I only need on stone," Jet said, looking away from everyone. "You guys can do what you want with the rest."

"Stop trying to act like you don't care about us!" Gallows smirked, before Jet gave him a punch to the face, but was noticeably weaker.

"They won't be able to do much," Halle sighed, taking them off Jet. "We know you can do it, Jet."

He took a moment to speak to Virginia, who he saw was just about to retaliate against Jet's decision.

"I'll be fine, just do what Halle asks," Jet tried to comfort her, but she looked at him worriedly. He tried to work up a smile, but gave up on a hard grimace. "I promise I'll come back…Ginny."

She blushed, hearing Jet use her nickname for the first time. "Be safe, Jet," she said before heading around the village to help gather people to the Temple.

Jet dashed off towards the Fallen, wondering if he could really keep that promise to Virginia.

* * *

**7:30 A.M – Outside the Colony**

As Jet approached the twelve men riding flying disks, they began to slow down to a halt in front of him. He recognized Eroz, Two, Three, and his clone, but the rest of them were new faces, who looked fairly powerful.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it Jet?" Eroz said sternly. He didn't look pleased, most likely disappointed that Jet abandoned his fight with the clone. "I hope you remember the deal we made about your fight, because I plan to carry out my side of the bargain."

"Leave them alone!" Jet said, raising his arms horizontally. "This is between you and me!"

"Oh really?" Eroz squinted coldly. "Our comrades would think differently."

The eleven Fallen behind him glared at Jet with dead eyes, as though they were mere puppets. Jet flinched, realizing the situation he was in. "Why don't we settle this like men? One on one."

Eroz suddenly began to laugh hysterically. "One on one? I gave you that chance," he clicked his fingers, and nine of them, including his clone, made for the Colony. "Besides, we're not men. We're androids. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a village to destroy," Jet was about to run after them, but was stopped by the two remaining Fallen. "Now, now, Jet, you have playmates here! Meet Twelve and Eleven. They're not as strong as we are, mind you, but fighting two Fallen has never resulted in a win. But then again, you _are_ the legendary Zero. Don't disappoint me. I want you to see your friends' dead bodies before I rip you to shreds."

Eroz zoomed off after his team, leaving Jet to deal with the two androids. "I'll deal with you two fast!" he yelled, ripping out a Guardian Stone. He began to concentrate, and the Lance began to glow a strong blue, energy seeping around it.

* * *

**8:00 A.M – Baskar Colony**

"They're coming!" Clive announced, standing on top of the temple's mountain with binoculars. "Is everyone in the temple?"

"We're all set!" Gallows called back. Maya, Virginia and Gallows were standing just outside the temple entrance, with Karen, Iris, Halle, and the villagers inside.

"The rest of you come in, now!" Halle told them. But they didn't move. Clive hopped down to join the others.

"We'll stay here and fight," Virginia told Halle. "We can't let Jet do everything, right guys?"

"He's already taken the spotlight a bit too much!" Gallows said, flexing his arms. "Time to show everyone what we're made of!"

"I'm itching to fight too," Maya said, stretching her neck. "It's been a while since I could vent my anger!"

Halle smiled with approval. "To think you are all the same people my idiot son brought here so long ago. I'm proud of all of you."

Halle reached into her pocket and tossed to Virginia the bag with the remaining Guardian Seals. Virginia proceeded to hand them out to Clive and Gallows. Of course, Maya couldn't summon, so she didn't want them, instead pulling her massive minigun out of her dress, causing Clive and Gallows to have a sudden nosebleed.

"I _really_ wanna know how she does that," Gallows commented.

They looked out again, and saw that they were almost at the Colony. Gallows turned to his grandmother. "Seal the temple, Granny!"

Halle began chanting an ancient ritual, and suddenly a large rock face began to materialize in the entrance, blending in with the rest of the mountain. After a few seconds, it had solidified, looking as though there was never a temple there to begin with. The group then turned back towards the Fallen.

"Let's do this, guys!" Virginia called out as they spread around the village. Clive, Gallows, and Virginia began to summon the Guardians. One by one, they appeared with a flash, engulfing the area.

* * *

**8:20 A.M – Outside the Colony**

Jet was on his knees panting. Sweat trickled down his face, his eyes twitching. Beside him were two smoking black corpses, blue smoke wafting off them. Jet groaned in pain, falling to the ground.

"W…Wow…It's harder than I thought to use this in combat," he groaned. He turned his head to face the Colony, where he saw the Guardians engaging the remaining Fallen. "Crap, gotta move, gotta move."

He pulled himself up, and limped as fast as he could back to the Colony.

* * *

**9:00 A.M – Baskar Colony**

The drifters were growing weak, the Fallen overpowering them easily. "They're playing with us," Clive mentioned. "They probably haven't even begun to show us how strong they are, and we're already not looking to good."

The Guardians were being beaten down one after the other, still standing no chance against the Fallen just as it was ages ago. Eventually all the Guardians were wiped out, and yet all of the Fallen remained. They gathered together at one side, the drifters on the other side.

"Oh man," Gallows said with a nervous smile. He raised his shotgun at them, but was quickly disarmed by one of the Fallen before he even had the chance to pull the trigger. The android that stopped him pulled his arm up and punched the elbow in, breaking his arm. Gallows yelled in pain, hitting the floor. Clive tried to help him, but was kicked by another one of the Fallen, a kick so hard it sent him flying to a wall with a crash.

Maya, in a fit of rage, unloaded everything she had at Eroz. Eroz merely walked towards her, his body filling with lead, but he didn't slow down. As he stopped in front of her, Maya had run out of ammo, and began desperately hitting the trigger. Eroz just smiled at her, sending chills down her spine. He then gave her a strong punch to the gut, hurtling her backwards to the ground. She coughed and wheezed, grabbing her stomach.

"Leave them alone!" Virginia yelled at them. One of the Fallen made to grab her, but Eroz raised his hand to stop him.

"Not her, this one seems important to Zero. _I _want to handle her."

As he approached her, Virginia raised her pistols and unloaded everything she had at him, but again to no effect. Virginia readied herself for Eroz's attack, but instead saw a blue streak hit him from the side, sending him flying into one of the colony houses. A second consecutive streak appeared, this time aimed at the rest of the Fallen, who were still standing together. Jet's clone, Two, and Three, all noticed, jumping out of the way, but the rest weren't so lucky. They all got caught in the blast, sending them flying straight into the mountainside. When the smoke cleared, all of the Fallen had been slightly burnt, but were still operational. That is, until another, much more concentrated shot came and hit them again, wiping them out completely.

Virginia turned to see Jet standing where the blasts had come from, panting, with his arm raised, smoke sizzling from the Lance. She was about to run towards him, but in a flash of movement, she was grabbed by Jet's clone. The clone jumped to the top of the mountainside, carrying Virginia on her shoulder. Standing next to him was Eroz, unscathed, and Two and Three.

"W-What? But I hit you!" Jet said in surprise. "You shouldn't be functional anymore!"

Eroz's face smiled with more evil than ever, making Jet shiver.

"That worthless thing? The original Fallen survived this long by adapting to that pitiful thing! It's as effective as throwing stones at me." He laughed out loud.

"Eroz!" Jet said in rage. "Let Virginia go!"

"I don't want to." Eroz said.

"You son of a…" Jet started shaking angrily.

"If you want to get her back," Eroz said, pointing at her. "Meet me at the Fallen Sanctuary, where we'll finish our fight. I want to destroy you at your best, so you see how stupid you were to side with humans!"

They disappeared in a bright flash, blinding Jet's eyes. Jet fell to his knees in exhaustion, something painful hitting his heart.

"Virginia…" Jet was panting heavily. "I'm coming for you…"

He stood up waveringly, pulling out his sword and using it as support. He checked to make sure the others were still alive before he called Lombardia. He transported inside, and ordered Lombardia to head for the Fallen Sanctuary.

"Are you okay?" Lombardia asked. Jet coughed in pain.

"Yeah, I'm all sunshine and lollipops."

* * *

**9:50 A.M – Baskar Colony**

Halle had medicated the drifters, and they were put to rest in whatever houses were left standing. She looked around the Colony, which was now in smoldering pieces. She sighed heavily.

"When Jet beats up those Fallen and comes back here, I am going to hit him back into Wild ARMs 1!"

"Back into what?" one of the villagers asked. Halle whacked him unconscious.

"Nothing! Shut up!"

* * *

**END CHAPTER**


	18. No Happily Ever Afters

**Chapter 18 – No Happily Ever Afters**

**A/N:** Oh God, after so long, I just couldn't take leaving my first and probably most liked story unfinished. This is the final chapter people, and I hope that someone out there still wants this.

* * *

**10:30 A.M – Fallen Sanctuary**

After Lombardia lowered Jet to the ground a ways off from the Sanctuary, she saw him suddenly groan and fall to his knee.

"Are you certain that you are okay?" she asked again.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine," Jet hissed, clutching at his chest with a pained grimace. "Now get outta here."

Lombardia did as she was told, and took off, leaving Jet in the empty field, his left hand clutching onto the Lance of Animation, his ARM and black sword strapped to his back, and his body screaming to stop moving. He felt as though he was carrying a sack of bricks on his back, but he pushed on.

"Gotta keep going… Gotta get Virginia… Dammit…"

As he reached the front door, he heard something and looked upwards to see Three jumping down, carrying a machete in his hands, heading straight for Jet.

"Shit!" Jet managed to throw himself out of the way, but wasn't quite fast enough, Three managing to get a slice at his ankle. Jet groaned through gritted teeth, trying to climb to his feet, but quickly falling as his ankle was unable to handle his weight. "Dammit, this is just what I need."

"I still got a score with you, mate!" Three taunted, licking Jet's blood off his blade. "Don't worry, this is going to hurt. _A lot!_"

Three smirked evilly as he advanced towards Jet, who could no longer move properly. Jet tried to raise his hand to fire the Lance, but Three had already anticipated it, and reached out and grabbed hold of his arm, restraining him easily. Jet's body was too fatigued to put up much of a fight.

"Ah, ah, ah! I'm ready for anything you have, mate! This is the end for you!" Three raised his blade to Jet's face, caressing his cheek with the top, a thin trail of blood following its movement. "Heh, the legendary Zero can bleed now! Back in the day you were unstoppable! This is what happens when you associate with humans, mate!"

Jet cringed, unable to think of a way out.

'This can't be it! I have to keep going… I have to…'

BANG

Three screamed as his hand suddenly blew away from Jet's face, his machete flying out of his hand. Before Jet could do anything else, a pair of brutish arms had scooped him up and dragged him away through the doors of the Fallen Sanctuary. Before the doors could close completely, Jet glanced back outside, and saw Clive wrapped in bandages, his rifle raised, shooting at Three. Turning around at his captor, he wasn't too surprised to see a similarly beat-up Gallows, who was now dashing up the stairs.

"What the hell are you two doing here? You'll get killed, you stupid oaf."

"Yeah, screw you, kid. We weren't gonna let you have all the fun, you greedy punk." Gallows chuckled, but suddenly went serious. "You alright, buddy? You look like hell."

"… Don't worry about it. Right now, we just have to get that silly Virginia out of trouble. _Again_."

Gallows didn't look at Jet, instead looking up the staircase. "Listen up, kid. A life lesson for you. Nobody is alone in the world, no matter what."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Just shut up and listen. Everybody has somebody out there that cares, somebody who's going to care if you live or die… What I'm trying to say is…" Gallows sighed solemnly. "You've got us, kid."

Jet looked down for a moment, then started laughing out.

"What's so funny, punk?"

"That serious tone doesn't suit you, pig."

The two of them smiled, understanding each other completely for the first time. However, a sudden force pushing them back disturbed their moment. They managed to land on their feet just barely, and looked up the staircase to see Two, his palm raised at them meticulously.

"I am your next opponent, Zero," he stated, lowering his palm and stepping forward. Jet was about to lift his hand, but was hastily stopped by Gallows.

"Save your energy, kid. I can feel your life force dying already."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Jet asked mockingly. "Ask him to go away?"

Gallows winked back at Jet. "Just take care of our leader."

Before Jet could say anything, Gallows launched forward, taking Two by surprise as he crash tackled into him, the two of them toppling off the staircase entirely. Jet ran to the edge and looked down to see them plummet, still fighting on the way down.

"Dammit, I should help him… But I gotta get to Virginia…" Jet decided he didn't want Gallows' sacrifice to go in vain, and he also didn't care for him much. With a shrug, he continued up the staircase, his hand unconsciously clutching at his chest.

* * *

**10:40 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary Rooftop**

As Jet climbed the final stretch of the staircase, Eroz's back slowly came into view, his cape blowing with the wind. Jet raised his Lance aggressively, his body sluggish from exhaustion.

"Where is she?" Jet demanded, trying not to let his voice shake. Eroz turned his head to see him, but turned back, looking towards one of the Guardian statues. Following his eyes, Jet saw Virginia, tied to the top of the statue, unconscious. He stared back at Eroz in rage. "If you harmed even a hair on her head…"

"She isn't hurt, Zero…" Eroz replied calmly, cutting Jet off. "I just needed her to get _you_. You see, Zero, now that I have constructed a _new_ Zero, you are obsolete. Worse than obsolete, you are an obstruction. A minor one, mind you, but an obstruction none the less." He finally turned to face Jet, and Jet saw him smirk as he saw Jet's fatigue. "The world can wait – I want to get rid of _you_ first."

"That isn't going to be easy. I have a plan this time." Jet reached around his back and pulled out the black sword that Clive had given him. Jet had realized that when he first held the sword, he felt a strange energy emanate from it. The energy he felt was exactly the same as what he felt in the Lance. He wasn't certain, but a hunch told him that the sword was somehow connected to the Lance. He was about to find out if he was right.

Eroz watched him confidently – it appeared that he wanted see what Jet would do rather than stop him. Jet was glad for this – he knew that if Eroz attacked him now, he would surely have no chance. Jet held the sword in his right hand, and felt the energies of the Lance and sword merging together. As Jet had suspected, they appeared to have been made for one another. Once again, he began manifesting his energy into the Lance, and he felt it transfer onto the black metal of the sword.

"Oh, and what could this be?" Eroz commented coyly, folding his arms calmly. Jet stared up at Eroz with a new spark of hope.

"I won't let you…"

"Won't let me what?" Eroz asked, teasingly leaning forward and placing his hand by his ear.

"I won't let you hurt anyone anymore!"

Normally when using the Lance, Jet had to keep strict concentration to prevent it from sucking him dry. This time, he didn't care. He let go completely, and felt the incredible rush of his life draining into his right hand. The energy intake was so incredible that the sword began to vibrate, the metal turning into a blinding blue.

"Take this!" Jet yelled, as he used what little energy he had left to throw the glowing blue sword over his head, and slam it down. The result was destructive. An intensely bright light shone as a large sphere of energy seemed to shoot out of the sword, moving at mach speeds, hitting a shocked-looking Eroz. The ball exploded like a nuclear bomb, engulfing the entire Sanctuary and the surrounding area.

* * *

**11:00 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary**

Gallows' and Clive's battles were interrupted as the blinding light forced them to shut their eyes. As the light slowly dissipated, they both opened their eyes to find the same thing:

Their opponents were completely gone.

* * *

**11:01 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary Rooftop**

Jet remembered what Halle had told him about the power of the Lance of Animation. A weapon specifically created to destroy the android-like composition of the Fallen. A composition that even Jet had. He knew the consequences of his action, but at the time, he had only one thing in his mind.

'I'm going to save you.'

As the ball of blue energy exploded, Jet felt it surge through his body. It felt as though a long snake was constricting around him, tightening around him and stopping him from breathing. Finally, he could no longer stand, falling backwards to the floor. As his eyes shut, he felt his mechanical heartbeat, felt it beat slower and slower.

But he didn't feel it stop.

* * *

**11:05 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary**

Clive, beaten and bruised, stepped into the Sanctuary, and saw Gallows sitting at the base of the stairs in roughly the same condition. He trod over, using his rifle as a crutch, and sat down next to him.

"You okay, man?" Gallows asked, laughing under his breath. "You look like hell."

Clive looked back at Gallows, and down at his arm, which was turning black. Clive couldn't help but chuckle too. "He broke your arm."

"Shut up!" Gallows said, laughing again. He calmed down for a minute, looking at Clive. "You think the punk's alright?"

The two of them turned their heads, staring at the ground.

"I'm sure…" Clive began, closing his eyes. "I'm sure that Virginia is alright."

Gallows fell backwards, resting on his elbows, his hair covering his eyes. "Yeah… I'm sure she's okay too."

* * *

**11:10 A.M – The Fallen Sanctuary Rooftop**

"Nngh…"

Virginia's eyes fluttered open, but her eyes were unfocused. Lying on the ground, she saw the world in a tilt, and in the distance, she could make out something lying on the ground in front of her. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, trying to remember what happened.

"I was… Oh!" Virginia suddenly remembered, and jumped to her feet, looking around cautiously for Eroz. While her vision was still partly hazy, she saw that she must have been the only living thing up there. She remembered seeing something while on the ground, and turned back to it. As her vision returned fully, she stared at the object that was on the floor. She noticed the red and white material wrapped around it, fluttering in the wind.

"Jet!"

Virginia ran to him, falling to his side and grabbing onto him. "Jet, wake up! Wake up! Please, wake up!" she wailed, first shaking his shoulders lightly, then harder. She felt at his chest, looking for the sound of life. She couldn't find it. Virginia saw her vision blur once again, this time from her tearing eyes.

"You can't die, Jet! You still have so much to do! So much for _us_ to do! Jet!" panicking, she tried to perform CPR, but she realized she didn't know it, and was meaninglessly bouncing her hands on his chest. As well as this, Virginia had a bad feeling deep down that she couldn't bring him back.

"Virginia."

While she knew it wasn't Jet, she looked at his face, hoping that it was actually Jet throwing his voice or something, but it wasn't. Looking up warily, she saw Clive and Gallows, who were staring at Jet sullenly.

"… Stupid punk shouldn't have done that." Gallows looked away, frowning angrily.

"… There must have been no other way," Clive said, as he limped over to Jet. Looking at his right hand, he saw that the Lance of Animation had become ripped and tattered, streams of thin, high-tech wiring bursting from it. The Lance had been destroyed. As well as this, Clive saw the black sword, which was embedded into the cement near Jet. It had flown up in the explosion, jerking itself into the cement hard.

"… We shouldn't be sad," Clive began. "Jet's done an amazing thing. We should be glad. The world is safe… The Fallen are defeated… Everything is right…" From the way he spoke, it was obvious that Clive had trouble believing it himself.

The three of them looked at Jet's lifeless face painfully. Jet; the one that cared only for himself; the one that had hated everybody else. That very same Jet had given his life in order to save his team, and Filgaia. But somehow, it didn't feel right to them - especially to Virginia.

"Jet!"

It was another voice this time, and they turned to see someone they didn't expect.

"Karen? What are you doing here?" Clive asked curiously.

"I remember now…" Karen began. "… When I was at the time of the War. I was one of the energy carriers… Zero's carrier. I was assigned to replenish Zero should he need it. Zero refused to use me, even when he was in critical condition. He told me that I had a life of my own, and that I should use it for myself."

Karen knelt by Jet's body, resting her head on his chest. "Zero…" she whispered to him. "Thank you… I'm going to use my life for what I want… So don't be mad…"

Karen's body began to glow brightly, forcing the others to look away. They already had an idea of what she was going to do, but were unable to stop her. As the light faded, they looked back at where Karen used to be. She had disappeared, and small specks of energy were seen drifting about.

"…Hm."

Everyone's heads tipped up, and they looked at each other in disbelief.

"…Hm… Hmm…"

They slowly turned their heads down, looking at Jet's body. Virginia bent down towards him, leaning her face right in front of his.

"… J-Jet?"

"…Hm…" Jet's eyes inched open, and as his vision cleared, he saw a teary-eyed face staring back at him, and at a very close proximity. "ACK! VIRGINIA!"

Jet hurriedly pulled himself away, backing up towards a wall. "W-Why are you coming so close for!"

The three of them stared at him, their faces slowly breaking into smiles.

"W-What? Is there something behind me?"

Before he could even turn around, Virginia had jumped and latched onto him, Gallows had begun maniacally punching him in the back, and Clive just stood there, shaking his head with a big smile.

It was finally over.

* * *

**12:00 A.M – Baskar Colony**

After everything had been explained to Halle, and the missing pieces filled in for Jet, the group sat around Halle's table, feeling slightly depressed at the loss of Karen.

"Hehe, you shouldn't think her dead, kids," Halle told them. She lifted her stick and lightly prodded Jet on the chest. "She's sitting in here. She must be overjoyed to have saved Jet's life, so we shouldn't mope. We should celebrate!"

"You're right!" Virginia said, wiping her eyes. "She wouldn't be happy if we were sad because of this!"

"Good point!" Maya said with a grin, as she stood up and grabbed at Jet's arm, surprising him. "Which is why Jet and I are going to go out and have some fun to celebrate! Right, Jet?"

"Um, ah…" Jet mumbled, until he felt two soft lumps pressing against the back of his head.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Iris teased, caressing Jet's cheek with her finger. "Jet and I are going to come back to my clinic to play a little 'Doctor'… Aren't we, honey?"

"Uh…" Jet began to panic as he saw Virginia heading for him. She was smiling coyly, and as she reached him, she grabbed onto his scarf, pulled him away from the other girls, and locked his lips on hers. Everybody stared at her with dropped jaws.

As she broke off, Jet stared at her wide eyes and a shy expression. "You know what, Jet?"

"W-What, Virginia?"

"I guess Even Androids Can Grow Cuter."

**THE END

* * *

**

**A/N: **Well, it took me AGES to finally finish Even Androids Can Grow Older… BUT I DID IT! And I only did it thanks to the support I got from reviews. Honestly, I didn't think I'd ever complete this fic after my final chapter got deleted… But I really wanted to finish what's probably my favorite fic, and the reviews and messages I got telling me to finish it really pushed me on!

This was the first fic I ever started writing, and is the reason I got into fanfiction in the first place, so I owe it a lot. Thanks to this, I've become (at least in my mind) a better writer, and it's helped me learn many things. It isn't perfect, and if I wrote it with the knowledge I have now, I think it would've been a lot better. But I'm happy with it as it is, because it lets me look back and say: "I wrote that!"

I'll just skip all the mushy stuff and say: Thank you to the people who reviewed me and helped me improve, no matter how big or small your comment was. I won't name names, as there are way too many, and every reviewer was important to me! Thank you to everyone who read this little, amateur work, and I hoped you enjoyed it. If anything, I hope it'll inspire other people to try writing something, and to push on no matter what!

Even Androids Can Grow Older – Ended at 9th May, 2006. My first fic, and how I love it so.

-Diamond Avatar


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